


Witches, Dragons and Rising Runelords

by LevitatingMountainYak



Category: Pathfinder (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Gen, Rise of the Runelords
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-11 20:42:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 154,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4451639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LevitatingMountainYak/pseuds/LevitatingMountainYak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An escaped slave and his dragon flee north into the Varisian frontier where they come upon a small town called Sandpoint. There they meet a no nonsense witch and an amiable innkeeper who try to settle them before they run off the edge of the world. But Sandpoint might need the slave and the dragon more than they need it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

So this is my first outing on the internet at large with one of my works, as it (hopefully) states above this is an adaption of the 'Rise of the Runelords' adventure path published by Paizo for their Pathfinder RPG.  
Tel is my PC and Uka is the PC of the other player (only a 2man party). The GM is obviously the primary driver of this plot and as such I'm not actually sure where it's going. Also you'll have to forgive any 'RPG assumptions' that worm their way in here such as characters making slightly out of character choices for the sake of the GM's game. I've tried to smooth them out as best I can though.  
As this is my first piece of story fiction any and all comments and criticisms are welcome.  
I hope you enjoy the Rise of the Runelords.

Chapter 1  
The gold flowed smoothly from the crucible into the packed sand mould, steady hands firmly holding the handles of the tiny vessel. All at once the gold welled up within the second hole atop the mould, indicating the pour complete. Gloved hands set the crucible aside on a nearby tree stump, a thin wisp of smoke winding up from where it sat against the wood. The gloves were shortly thrown down beside the crucible and the freed fingers set to combing through short, dark hair. Brown eyes glanced around the clearing to ensure his privacy before he allowed a look of smug satisfaction to settle over his narrow face. A smile spread over his unremarkable yet almost handsome features.  
"That's the last of them, Hearth," he said to the other occupant of the small clearing in the woods. At the mention of his name Hearth cracked an eye in the direction of the speaker and, after a moment spent gathering his vast, membranous wings against his sides, pushed himself up onto his four muscular legs. His long serpentine tail lashed the air behind him in mock annoyance as he meandered over to see what the fuss was about. He cut an impressive profile as he went with his barrel chest tapering abruptly to a lean stomach. His heavily muscled legs, broad shoulders and powerful hindquarters seemed at odds with his fluid and graceful movements and gave him the air of a prize athlete. The dragons skin was a pure jet black overset with slightly lighter scales patterned to produce the near perfect likeness of a piece of charred wood. He craned his neck to bring his head closer to the object of his partner's pride. The neck and head were proportioned much like those of a horse though clearly the former was possessed of a much greater degree of flexibility as he rotated his reptilian head this way and that to get a better look at the mould. Hearth took care not to catch the smug jeweller with the two smooth, swept back horns that protruded back behind his head as continuations of his brow line. The horns wound a 180 degree twist before coming to an end in rounded points, scarcely losing half their thickness from base to tip. The large head was cocked to the side; the better to give the bright orange eye that now inspected the jeweller's works as close a view as possible.  
Seeing nothing of interest in the cooling mould Hearth opened his nostrils and blew a cloud of smoke down over the smug face. The face only cocked an eyebrow in return and held its breath, waiting for the smoke to pass. Before the grey cloud thinned however Hearth gently bumped his companion's chest with his broad, round snout. The jeweller went tumbling onto his back, powerless to resist the motion of Hearth's mighty head, but quickly recovered and brandished an imaginary sword at his assailant. He rolled over on the grass, chopping at the left foreleg with his make believe blade. The leg was sharply withdrawn in pretend pain before the jaws flashed open and down and over the entire upper body of the now sitting man. Razor sharp teeth, each easily 6 inches long gently pressured the leather apron worn by Hearth's hapless target. The head gave a barely perceptible shake to reaffirm its victory.  
"Ack," the struggling figure exclaimed before continuing in a defeated tone, "ok Hearth, you win again." As the jaws released their victim and the vast head rose it was Hearths turn to wear the smug look upon his angular, aerodynamic features. The man looked down at the small marks left in his leather apron and smiled. "This is why I don't bother buying nice clothes," he said sarcastically and gave Hearth a wry look. The dragon flopped down where he stood with comedic contempt for the man's complaints and drifted back to sleep in the warmth of the morning sun.  
The jeweller went back to his work and cracked the mould sharply with a set of tongs. He lifted the mould and sitting half buried in the sand left behind was a golden ring covered in a swirling pattern of oak leaves and birds. After cleaning the moulding lines and imperfections it was gently placed alongside its counterparts and the man stepped back from his impromptu display stump-table to review his work.   
"Not a bad effort if I do say so myself, eh Hearth?"  
The great head had lifted from where it lay and was regarding the display of jewellery. It bobbed in agreement that it was a fine display before giving the jeweller an affectionate nudge and Hearth tucked it back under a wing and went back to sleep.  
The gold jewellery was gently placed into small cloth pouches which were in turn placed within a pack the jeweller slung over his shoulder and he grabbed a small display rack under one arm.  
"Hearth, hey, wake up. It's time to go," he said gently to the sleeping dragon, placing a hand on the black hide.  
Hearth rolled to right himself before ducking his head almost to the ground for his companion to clamber up behind. The man sat astride his neck, just behind his head, and grasped a horn with his free hand. "You know, if we sell all this jewellery at the festival this afternoon we might be able to buy a proper set of kit for you. Maybe some saddle bags and a collar with a cushion," he said jokingly. The dragon gave a rumble and he quickly added, "yes, yes, and some more food for you." With that Hearth pushed himself up to his full height, near 10' tall at the shoulder, took two massive bounding leaps, and with one powerful downstroke they were airborne. The ground and the forest fell away beneath them as they continued to climb with the sapphire waters of the Varisian gulf sparkling to the northwest. The wind was cold on his face but Hearths head protected his legs and lower body from the wind as they set off north over the forest and towards the small town of Sandpoint. Although the sun wasn't even at its daily zenith and the festival wasn't due to start for hours the town was a hive of activity and people could be seen swarming through the streets, the distance giving it the appearance of an agitated ants nest. As they got closer Hearth took them low and out of sight of the town with his wings almost touching the treetops on the down stroke.

A short while later the clearing out side of town that was their destination came into view and Hearth slowed to a hover before landing softly on the grass. The clearing was about a mile outside town into the forest and on the far side of the river mouth from the town. Although ostensibly part of a local noble's estate the land the clearing was on was wild and uninhabited and it was not by accident that this was their target. Having landed Hearth lowered his head half way to the ground and rolled his neck to allow his passenger to dismount. He did so by holding the lower horn, dangling a moment, and dropping to the ground.   
"Thanks Hearth," the young man replied and the dragon nuzzled him affectionately.  
"Hopefully I'll sell this lot for a good price and we can get you a whole cow. I know you hate eating carrion," he said sadly. At the man's insistence Hearth hadn't been hunting for fear of being spotted as his presence was sure to cause a stir and rouse the local authorities to a monster hunt. The request still weighed heavily on his mind, he did not enjoy watching his dear friend suffer so and it was a credit to Hearth's loyalty that he had heeded that request; which of course only made the guilt worse. Still he had a chance to set that right here, today, with his pack full of goods and a waiting market. Though he wasn't yet sure how to surreptitiously purchase a whole cow and have it disappear into the forest he would cross that bridge if, and hopefully when, he came to it. He turned to see the dragon already making himself comfortable in the clearing as he'd made trips into town before and hearth knew the drill. "Hey," he said, stroking the great head, "this might be a slightly longer outing than the usual quick runs, I might not be back until after dark." Hearth warbled a melodic sound of understanding before putting his head over the man and hugging him close to his breast with his chin. The comparatively tiny figure threw his arms around hearths thick neck and said, "I'll be back before you know it." Despite the warmth of the early autumn day he pulled the scarf around his neck up over the bridge of his nose, adjusting its height on his left cheek to ensure it hid the branding scar. The twisted flesh of the brand stretched the full width of his left eye down to the corner of his mouth. He quickly mentally checked off his things; pack with jewellery, display stand and his trusty short sword. He looked down at the blade and wondered if, being in the style of the gladiators of Cheliax, it might draw unwanted attention. He drew his tunic over its distinctive hilt and affixed the heavy armoured gauntlet to his left wrist that was the other half of his pair of Chelaxian pit weapons. With a last look back at Hearth he headed towards Sandpoint.  
As he came upon the bank of the river, the water's edge clutched tightly in the roots of the forest, he looked across the water to Sandpoint. The town was situated on the northern bank of the river mouth, nestled on the spit of land the river made as it ran parallel to the ocean before abruptly turning west and emptying into the ocean. The almost 90 degree bend in the river was wide and sheltered and home to a small fleet of fishing boats, all of which were currently moored on the wooden piers with their owners in the town in anticipation of the festivities. The town itself was a cheery place, even in the absence of the celebratory energy it now possessed, with its wide streets and well repaired buildings; almost all of which were two storeys tall with a wooden upper storey perched atop lower of sturdy stone. The skyline was punctuated by a large stone cathedral, its upper spire reaching for the clouds, and the smoking stacks of the glassworks which was the primary industry of the town. The town was nice, as towns went, the man decided. He rarely came by during the day, preferring instead the cover of night, but when he did he had to admit to its charms. Despite this he couldn't stifle the sense of unease he felt as he turned and walked along the bank towards one of the low wooden bridges that crossed the placid river to the town. This would be his first legitimate visit, the only one so far where he did not sneak in as a thief...  
Towns were not where he felt safe; they were a place where the risk of discovery vastly outweighed any comforts that might be found there as the life of a slave was viewed as the property of its owner and would be made miserable or brutally ended if escape was attempted. Moreover towns presented a place where Hearth would not be tolerated, much less welcome, and was even likely to be hunted for sport or from the misguided opinion that the dragon was dangerous. Anywhere Hearth, his dearest friend, was not welcome the man was not prepared to stay. Better a life in the wilds on the run with Hearth than a life of peace in town without.

The hollow clomp of his boots on the boards of the bridge sounded alien to him and only increased his anxiety by serving as a reminder that he now trod dangerous ground. Yet even as his instincts moved to an ever heightened state of readiness his mind countered with the fact they he had at least one friendly contact within the Sandpoint community, the proprietor of the Rusty Dragon inn. In fact it was she who had suggested he might take advantage of the festival to put some more coin in his pocket. As he made his way across the bridge he feared he would be stopped and discovered and would likely have to fight his way back to Hearth. His mind played out a hundred scenarios as he made his final approach to the far side of the bridge and Sandpoint with each more dreadful than the last. He found the thought of killing a guard just doing his job unpleasant but he would not leave Hearth to fend for himself and he felt his duty to his friend more keenly than any number of other lives. His heart leapt into his throat as he approached the guard on duty at the far end of the bridge. Although the guard seemed disinterested in his post his breastplate and weapons were both well-kept with the sun glinting from the polished armour, spear head and loaded crossbow bolt all. The guard eyed the approaching man's scarf closely and the escaped slave felt that his dark thoughts were about to be horribly realised. The guard abruptly cracked a warm smile however and simply said, "welcome to Sandpoint friend, I haven't seen you around here before. Do you need directions?"  
The slave responded by means of a simple headshake and walked by without breaking stride leaving the guard to give a puzzled shrug of his shoulders and turn his gaze back to his intent study of the road.  
With a sigh of relief hidden by his scarf the increasingly uncomfortable slave made his way through the town. As he went he passed more people in minutes than he had in months as his previous experience of the town had been purely nocturnal and conducted from the shadows. This experience was nothing alike with the sun warm in the sky and the bustle of activity leading to the upcoming festival. Starkly at odds with his own demeanour the townsfolk were a warm and welcoming bunch not hesitant to wish him a good day as he passed. He felt very much the outsider and hurried along as quickly as he dared without attracting attention while returning the kindness paid with a string of awkward nods.  
As his walk turned slowly from an experience of abject terror of discovery into one of a more simmering fear, and simply feeling so very isolated from the people around him, he at last came upon his destination. He made his way around the back of the Rusty Dragon inn as inconspicuously as he could and ducked into the stables courtyard. Thankfully there was no one present and the quiet wicker of the few horses in residence was the only acknowledgement his presence got. He moved quietly towards the back door of the inn and knocked on its sturdy timber before apprehensively glancing behind and up at the second storey windows to make sure no one was watching. The door was suddenly flung inwards and the man jumped back in surprise.

Through the opening a scene of organised madness unfolded. The inns kitchen was full of cooks all bustling about and they were all far too busy with the various things cooking that occupied every available flat surface within to notice the frozen figure staring in at the spectacle. Indeed their simmering war for more space, each ever trying to annex a piece of his neighbours bench for one of his own pots, rendered them wholly blind to the goings on at the doorway.  
A young woman greeted the man at the back door with a bedraggled smile and looked glad for the excuse to step outside as she did so.   
"I'm glad you decided to come, Tel," she said to the man as he backed towards the stables at the edge of the small courtyard and away from the chaos in the kitchen. She tucked her long, stark white bangs back behind her ears before continuing, "You know you don't need the scarf, right? We've discussed this before; no one in the town will care or call the guards."  
"I prefer to wear it," Tel replied, "I'm not as ready to trust every last one of these people as you are."  
His mistrust had been proven well founded over his months as a fugitive and to his mind Sandpoint was no different.  
"You seem to trust me well enough," she countered easily and pulled a lopsided smirk that pushed the mole by her wide lips up level with her nose, "I might've turned you in easy as I please and yet here you are."  
Indeed she might have turned me in Tel thought. He had been caught red handed trying to steal food from her inn that night and her response had puzzled him since.   
"I did not mean for you to find out, and I would not have returned if my status was advertised," Tel said, meeting her gaze.   
"Well it wasn't advertised and you needn't have left, either. The offer of work for room and board still stands if you've finally tired of living in whichever wilderness den you call home," she said and she let the smirk fall from her face to convey her sincerity.  
"I thank you for the offer, but again I must refuse," Tel said and he couldn't help but remember the night they'd met.  
He had snuck into Sandpoint soon after he came to the region while still recovering from a grievous injury. Weak and feverish he had thought to sneak in, steal what he needed and be gone back to where he'd left Hearth waiting. He'd been standing in this very courtyard and, drawn by the delicious smells coming from the kitchen, had quietly opened to the door only to find a pair of keen brown eyes upon him and the point of a rapier at his throat. Those same eyes now gave him a look he could not quite place while his own gaze unconsciously flitted to the rapier that even now hung easily at her side.

Seeing his condition as she had pushed the door fully open and allowed the light to fall on him she ushered him quietly inside, despite the hour being well past midnight. Too hungry and fever addled to question the hospitality he had, without thinking, pulled down his scarf and devoured the food sat at the table in front of him. Despite the candles burning low on the walls she noticed almost immediately and Tel had felt his heart skip a beat and his stomach knot at her intense focus on his revealed face.  
Realising the game was up he had thought to run for the door, but before he could move that rapier was at his throat again. At the time he had considered making a move anyway, he could not bear to leave Hearth alone in the woods and the thought of never seeing his draconic friend again had lent his clouded mind reason to try his luck. His mad plan had died in its infancy however, slain by the surprise of hearing, delivered in a quietly commanding voice, "you're not going anywhere until you've had at least one good meal." The smile on her face had disarmed him utterly; exhausted and famished he was in no mood to complain. He had left the inn that night, not in chains as he feared he might, but with an old yet warm blanket, a loaf of bread and dried meat.

 

Thinking on what had transpired that night he would be lying to himself if he said he didn't sometimes think that if his circumstances had been different he would have gladly accepted the offer. But Hearth would not be included he had known and so the offer had been easily refused.   
"Well, suit yourself," she said with a shrug that made Tel acutely aware of how tense he was and how rigidly he'd been standing. He made an effort to relax his ready muscles and was rewarded with a cutting laugh and a slap on the shoulder which he avoided flinching away from only by supreme effort of will.  
"I was wondering how long it'd take you to work that stick out of there," she said.  
Tel felt his face rush hot with embarrassment and was suddenly even more glad of the scarf covering his face.  
"Towns make me wary is all," he said a little defensively, it was the best he could manage as hits wits fled before his shame.  
"Heh, you'd get along well with a friend of mine I would think. She's forever out and about too while she keeps an eye on all the goblins around here. If you're going to insist on staying where it's not safe, by yourself, you might at least tell me where you're holed up and I can ask her to warn you of any trouble headed your way."  
Tel tensed again at the thought that there was a ranger patrolling the area, a ranger who might stumble upon Hearth and himself, a ranger who would surely hunt down a dragon if she knew of its presence.  
Seeing him tense up she quickly added, "She's mainly focusing her efforts to the north, and has been for some months as there's a bugbear she's had a few run ins with that she's keen to put down."  
"Why would her being to the north be any comfort to me?" Tel asked suspiciously. He did not know if she was guessing, or whether this ranger had already located them. The latter was unlikely he thought, nothing could sneak past Hearth; the dragon had this strange sixth sense of everything going on around him and he was confident this ranger had no foil for it. Still, he aimed a suspicious look at her by way of requesting an explanation.  
"You came in from the south bridge," she said smoothly, and, nodding towards his boots said, "I can tell by the sand on them, and this leads me to believe you've set up somewhere to the south."  
It was an explanation the more suspicious parts of his mind were not willing to believe but despite their protests he found he had nothing to take it on but face value.  
"Oh, well," he trailed off realising too late his reaction had confirmed her theory more than anything else.   
"Don't worry so much Tel, I'm not going to raise a mob and scour the forest. You need to relax and accept the fact that, whether you believe it or not, not everyone is out to get you."

Tel was not ashamed to admit that, in truth, Hearth was the only other creature in existence he trusted. His silence conveyed more completely his opinion on the matter than any words he might have spoken.  
"One day Tel, when you've finally come to see that the folk of Sandpoint mean you no harm, you'll have to let me know what," she paused to find the words, "tragedy befell you to shape your thinking so."  
"When that day comes, I gladly will," Tel said coolly.  
She gave his remark a snort and a smile, "That I will hold you to. Now, on a lighter note, you're happy to take these good people's money, if not their word I assume?"  
Tel was glad of the change of topic yet he couldn't help being slightly annoyed at how easily she ran verbal rings around him. He confirmed her suspicions of his whereabouts quite unwittingly, and his feelings on a topic he found hard to disguise whatever words he might choose to use. She'd sensed his discomfort and moved the conversation back into his comfort zone with a smooth ease Tel couldn't help but envy.  
"Yes, I've managed to turn my last few gold coins into some things I hope will fetch a good price," he said stiltedly, though truth told he didn't much fancy spending Chelaxian coinage and betraying his origins to every merchant he dealt with.  
When he made no move to show off his labours she prompted, "Well, are you going to show me what you have? It was my idea to go to the markets after all."  
He seemed to suddenly realise what she meant and unslung his pack and removed the wrapping of his creations. He tentatively proffered the first piece, an intricate golden chain sized as a bracelet with every link home to engravings of playful dolphins on its flattened faces.  
She was momentarily dumbstruck but quickly gathered he thoughts. "Tel that's, that's, beautiful," she said with furrowed brows. He took a small delight at seeing her being the one to trip over her words for once and would have considered giving the bracelet to her as a gift. However, the jewellery was the only way he could afford Hearth's food and might even stretch to some decent equipment for their life on the run; the wilds were far kinder to the well-equipped after all.  
He held out his hand and she returned the bracelet with a slightly regretful air.  
"That will fetch you a good price from any nobleman looking to woo a lady I should think," she said.  
"I'm hoping so," was all Tel responded with.  
"Well, come on then, you know the deal," she said abruptly, "you can set up on those barrels next to my own little stand." She motioned at the collection of tables and chairs stacked beside the barrels and said, "But first we're going to have to get those up to the cathedral..."

 

An hour, and a good many trips up the hill from the inn to the cathedral on the other side of town carrying heavy furniture, later Tel finally dropped himself to his stool. He had set the three barrels up in what he felt displayed his meagre stock to best advantage. They made a triangle with the central barrel raised slightly above the others and positioned at the back. He had his pieces laid out on their cloths or hanging from his display rack and he felt a wretchedly shabby street peddler, hawking his limited wares from his tiny stall. He held onto the hope of selling a few items at least, based on Ameiko's very positive review when he had shown her earlier. He looked over to her. She was behind her temporary bar serving food brought up from her inns kitchen and drink from its stores. Clearly at home among the bustling crowd crammed into the town plaza in front of the newly finished cathedral, the structure in whose honour the festivities were thrown, her stand was providing Tel's boutique with a steady stream of potential customers. He watched them warily as they filed between the great tables he'd helped Ameiko set up in the plaza suspecting any one of them might be a thief. Given how much Hearth and he needed the things the sale of this jewellery would buy he was unwilling to accept any losses to his stocks.

He was startled from his analysis of the thieving qualities of the crowd by a cat jumping onto his display barrels. Before he could shoo it away it sniffed at a particular piece and then raised a paw to elicit a, "so that's the one you want then?" from nearby. The cat nodded.   
"Are you sure?" the female voice asked. It was then Tel realised that the raised paw was not merely held in the air; it was pointing. His puzzled gaze was still fixed on the cat when he heard a throat cleared pointedly very close and he looked up to see a strange woman in a dark, pointed felt hat. The hat was a deep purple and her hair was nearly long enough to touch the ground. Her ample bosom was bidding for freedom against the custody of a corset and she wore a dress slit up both sides nearly to her hip revealing shapely legs hidden from below the knee in practical looking boots.  
"We will take that one," she said, pointing to a bracelet.   
"That will be 20 coins of gold," Tel replied, trying to sound confident in his asked price. To his surprise the strange woman only laughed, "Friend, you need to know your market! I've got pecker perker potions for sale over there for 50 gold a pot, and they're selling hand over fist!" she jerked a thumb back over her shoulder to where her own stall was set up and Tel was surprised to see it unsupervised, save by a frightful looking doll perched haphazardly on one of the display tables.  
"Though i dare say," she continued, "that a good deal of the lads who bought those would have more use for them if they bought one of these too." she said this not as a joke, but with as straight a face as one might use to state a simple fact. The cat simply looked bemused at the length of time the purchase was taking while the woman added, "ask 60 at least for the bracelets, and 100 for the necklace." With that she handed over 60 gold coins and slipped the bracelet over the cats head like a collar. The cat purred contentedly, seeming satisfied that it looked splendid and dropped to the ground to make its way back to its owner's potion tables. Tel, taken aback by this turn of events, so utterly out of line with how he'd rehearsed it in his head, belatedly said, "You're welcome to take the bag it's supposed to come with, if you'd like."   
"Hah! That'll only do me any good if she takes it off, which she probably won't. I'm Uka by the way, and your satisfied customer is Ula. I'm the local witch," she said with the same level voice she'd used to describe pecker perker potions.

 

Briefly Tel considered giving a false name, but he couldn't think of anything on the spot. Besides he reasoned, stumbling over your own name is the kind of thing that arouses suspicion, something he was keen to avoid and doubly so when a witch was involved. Tel had no idea what powers she could wield, though that she was a skilled alchemist and brewer of potions was on display at her stall, he was acutely aware that the most powerful plays you had were the ones your opponents didn't know about. He'd heard the stories of course, of curses and hexes of an uncomfortable nature and spells bringing swifter demises. Still, she didn't seem aggressive for the moment, and she had made a purchase for 3 times his asking price, so he decided that playing along was the best strategy to adopt.  
"Pleased to meet you Uka, I'm Tel,' he responded as levelly as he could manage.   
"Tel is an odd name, still, I guess you don't get to choose it. Say, I haven't seen you around here before; you new in town or just here for the festival?" Uka enquired.   
"Oh, just passing through," Tel replied noncommittally. This line of conversation made him increasingly anxious and he was unsure how many more questions in that vein he was prepared to answer. He was saved however when a man sidled over surreptitiously towards Uka's tables and picked up a suggestively shaped bottle labelled 'PP' before quickly replacing it under the baleful gaze of the creepy doll.   
"Excuse me," Uka quickly blurted, before running over to make another sale.

 

As the hours ground on towards the evening and the sun grew low in the sky Tel found that he had sold all his stock. The pace of his sales had increased dramatically after Uka and Ula's purchase of his bracelet and he wondered how much of his fortune he owed to the cat. It seemed very keen to display its bracelet collar to passers-by and invariably provoked an inquiry to Uka as to where it came from. For her part Uka seemed only too happy to point people over to Tels collection of barrels and combined with the people waiting in line at Ameikos food and drink stall he did a brisk business.  
Finding himself without any stock he began to pack up his things. The situation made him nervous and although the people of Sandpoint had been universally welcoming he still felt ill at ease. He replaced the cloth bags that weren't taken with their purchases in his pack, folded up his display rack and returned his borrowed stool and barrels to Ameiko quickly. He was keen to leave the busier parts of town and make his purchases from the farmers outside Sandpoint proper. He reasoned that buying too many things at once might seem like he was outfitting for something and draw attention to him, something he was phobically afraid of doing. He performed a final check of his belongings before he would leave: sword, gauntlet, pack, display rack and lastly the hefty pouch of gold he had made that day. He'd counted 380 pieces of gold, a truly extraordinary sum, and a massive profit considering the 40 gold coins he'd smelted for the jewellery. Satisfied with his checks he scoped a path of least resistance through the packed eating tables, across the main avenue of the festival, through the stalls on the other side and away.

He made it as far as the main avenue when a bell abruptly rang and the crowd, as one, began to surge forward towards the cathedral and swept him along with it. He was trapped. He couldn't push back against the tide without making a scene and he dare not be jostled sufficiently that it might risk the scarf dropping from his face. Fighting to remain calm, his fears certain he should be exposed and unable to flee the resulting attempt at arrest, he moved with the crowd. As they approached the cathedral Tel noticed a stage had been set up in front of the immense stone structure and atop it ran a long table. Seated at the table were what Tel figured must have been the town dignitaries. The crowd abruptly stopped where it was, satisfied they were within earshot of the speakers. The dignitaries began at once to rise in turn and make speeches about things Tel cared nothing for. He didn't even hear them as he focussed on making his way, politely and unobtrusively, through the crowd towards its rear.

He was only two or three people from the back of the crowd when a dog started to bark vigorously. Tel froze and for a wretched moment assumed it was barking at him. He turned to look at the dog and just as he located it under a nearby wagon a short, green humanoid loomed over the dog with a jagged knife and stabbed it in the neck, choking its barking to a sad whimper as it died. The dogs assailant was no taller than 4' high with a disproportionately big head and it drew its blade from the dogs weakly pawing body and stepped through its blood pooling on the packed earth in search of fresh victims.  
Tel stood for a moment transfixed. It was not the blood or the knife wielding goblin that stole action from him, he'd seen far more gore and far more intimidating killers during his time in the arenas, but indecision. Part of him urged him to run, these people weren't his responsibility and if anything would have constituted a material risk to his freedom and Hearths life if they found they had an escaped slave and a dragon living near their town. Another part of himself spurred him to action, these people should not be left to die it claimed, they deserve better than to be stabbed from behind. Strangely it was the dog that tipped Tels decision. In it he saw hearth, it barked in an attempt to warn its pack and was killed for it. Although Hearth's and his pack numbered only two they felt the bonds of fellowship run deep enough to make the same move as that dog had for each other.  
It was decided; he would yell a warning and then make all haste to Hearth.  
No sooner than he had made the decision was it rendered obsolete, a band of goblins that Tel estimated at 10 strong came quietly up the festive avenue towards the unaware back of the crowd starting fires with their torches as they went. With Escape currently impossible Tel steeled his nerves and yelled, "Goblins! We're under attack!"

Realising the game was up the gang goblins rushed in. There must have been other groups encircling the crowd as screaming shattered the stunned silence left in the wake of Tel's shouted warning. And then there was panic. People began to break from the crowd and rush towards the buildings of the town in their desperation to escape the goblins at the festival. The charging band Tel had sighted gleefully gave pursuit and seemed not to notice the one person not fleeing. Tel closed his left hand into a fist and raised the gauntlet armoured forearm in front of him defensively, his right hand went for his short sword and its single edge and scalloped end he held ready at his side. He exhaled to steady his racing heart and prepared to meet their charge. He knew he wasn't the most skilled swordsman around but he was at least basically proficient in his short sword and gauntlet fighting style following his training for the pits. He had only one real fights worth of previous experience however and he was acutely aware of how well that had gone. His first, and he hoped last, foray onto the arena sands had very nearly been the final act in both Hearths and his life and despite their survival had resulted in a months-long recovery on his part. 'Still,' he thought grimly, 'only one way to get experience.' With his need to see Hearth again and his determination that the dragon would not be left on his own lending him courage the battle was joined.

The goblin swung his crude knife in an overhead chop and Tel threw up his armoured forearm to block while making a right to left sweep at the goblins trunk with his blade. The goblin either didn't notice the onrushing sword or ignored it and Tels slash cut its abdomen to the spine while its own weapon was blocked harmlessly by the gauntlet. Tel quickly withdrew his blade to the ready position at his side and the goblins corpse slumped to the ground. Tel made a powerful backhanded sweep towards the legs of a goblin running by on his right as he turned to face it. His aim was true and the diminutive creature tripped forward to the ground and fell writhing and clutching its stump before Tel put it out of its misery.

He risked a quick glance around to take stock of the situation and was dismayed to see chaos ascendant and fire spreading. Even as he watched people ran around in a state of panic, hampering the guard's efforts to control the situation and exposing themselves to the goblins gleefully cutting anything that came within arm's reach. The goblins were also singing a song, setting fires and pocketing anything that took their fancy. He noticed ruefully that his training in 'arena craft', the situational awareness and tactical aspects of the gladiatorial profession, was wholly inapplicable to his present situation. He looked for an opening, somewhere he could dash through the goblin line and make his way back to Hearth, but he saw no such thing. The fight had passed the idea of lines and now the twilight and the glow of the fires illuminated only a haphazard collection of goblins and townsfolk all running this way and that.

Tel pushed his way past a knot of people and cut down another goblin as he moved towards the bridge he entered the town over. He made it only 20 yards before his left leg collapsed under him and he toppled to the ground. He caught himself and quickly rolled to his right and an instant later the dull clink of a knife striking the road met his ears. He rolled onto his back in an attempt to face his attacker but realised too late that there were two. One near his feet stabbed its blade down through his left shin, the thick leather of his boot not enough to fully stop the double handed effort but enough to blunt the worst of it. The blade still sunk into his leg however and he noticed another blade protruding from his thigh, its presence going a long way to explain his fall. The pain was incredible and dazed him at a crucial moment. His attempt get his gauntlet into position to block the swing from a goblin standing by his hip failed and he took a cut to the chest that showed breast bone and ribs when the blade was withdrawn. In desperation he kicked out with his good leg at the goblin struggling to retrieve its blade from his shin and was rewarded with the solid connection of his heel to its groin which sent it wincing to the road. He quickly turned his attention back to the attacker at his side, confident that his kick had bought him a moments respite from the other goblin. To his surprise and horror the goblin was being lifted off the ground by a thick lock of hair wound tightly around its neck. It clawed uselessly at the strangling length before it hoisted the goblin into the air and drove its head into the ground with enough force to crack open its head and spill brains onto the roadway.

The sun was rapidly setting and suddenly from the growing darkness behind the mashed goblin Uka stepped into view with the murderous tentacle of hair withdrawing to her back, flicking goblin brains from itself as it went. Tel stared at her with his mind filled with a mix of unease and gratitude. Her hair was a deeply unsettling weapon to see deployed snaking as it did, seemingly with a mind of its own, and clearly capable of punishing strength. Of all the powers he had heard credited to witches the ability to murder someone with their hair was not among them. A smile broke her look of concentration and Tels gratitude rose to the fore and he managed a weak, "Thank you for your help." Tel was confident he hadn't sustained any injuries likely to be immediately fatal and although he was losing a lot of blood he was still confident he could make it back. With the death and disabling of those last two goblins the way back to the clearing was open and with a grunt he managed to sit himself up.

Uka moved to extend an arm to help him up but before she got half way through the motion she abruptly stiffened and dropped to her knees. Her hair snaked forward over her shoulder holding a bloodied arrow. "Oh, that's annoying," she said weakly, "I like this dress." Her worlds were slurred by pain and she dropped forward onto one arm. A sudden quiet descended on the scene and Tel looked around worriedly. Terror gripped his throat as his worst fears were realised. The goblins had noticed the downed pair and made Uka and Tel as easy kills. A group began to ring them and chant their song before slowly advancing on the crippled duo. Tels gut churned, he felt nausea wriggle in his belly. It couldn't end here, not like this. All Hearth and he had survived, all their work on the jewellery, the successful but stressful day selling it, all that was going to come crashing down right here. Hearth would be left alone in the world and would likely fall victim to some self-aggrandising hunter, valued only as a potential head on the wall. The thought of his dearest friend meeting such a fate was a pain more severe than the physical wounds could muster and he used it. He pushed himself up onto the knee of his good leg and let loose the most fearsome roar he could. He poured into that cry all his anger at the fates that had dealt him this hand and the cruel world that cared so little for him or dear Hearth. It worked momentarily, the goblins jumped in surprise but then giggled to one another before resuming their advance.

The air around them all exploded as Tel's last shout of defiance was answered by Hearths roar. The roar was so loud and violently sudden that it was accompanied by a stab of pain in both ears and a blurring of the vision, it was felt in the chest and the sinus and the goblins froze as the deafening peal of thunder rolled over the town. Hearth erupted from the darkening sky and drove one of the goblins into the ground as he landed, crushing it to a bone studded goo. He clawed at another, sending its remains in three different directions before his head shot forward at a third. Hearth lifted the goblin into the air, only from waist down protruding from his teeth before biting down and sending the legs to the ground spilling intestines as they landed. The remaining goblins fled before the onslaught but Hearth did not give chase. He turned to inspect Tel and a questioning warble rolled on into a plaintive whine and then a soothing coo as the extent of Tel's injuries became apparent. Hearth gently nuzzled Tel's face and Tel raised a hand to Hearth's cheek, "Thank you," he said, "I would've been lost without you." There was a quiet meow from behind them and when Tel turned to look, using hearths proffered head for support, he saw Ula drop a vial of blue liquid to the ground in front of Uka and gently roll it towards her with a paw before meowing again. Uka picked it up with her free hand, pushed herself up to kneeling with the other and drank the contents. She cringed worryingly and petted Ula reassuringly despite the fact the cat seemed not at all phased by either the goblin attack or the arrival of Hearth.  
Uka was clearly still dazed by the pain but the potion seemed to be rapidly restoring her strength. Her glassy eyes passed over Tel and Hearth, dismissing the dragons dark shape as a trick of the light, then with acuity slowly returning shot her gaze back to them.  
"Tel... Is that, is that a dragon?" she inquired, her worlds slightly slurred.  
Tel looked plaintively at Uka wishing fervently that she had not noticed, however ridiculous that wish might be. The game was up. Briefly he considered killing the only witness to Hearths presence, no price was too high to pay for his safely and the deed might easily be explained away by the goblin raid. But Ukas aid that had quite probably saved his life not moments before made the deed repugnant. The coldly practical part of him reminded him that the price of Uka's life might well be Hearth's and his. He countered these dark thoughts with the fact that even if she did raise the alarm the goblins were a much more pressing issue for the town and after that, even if they did decide to offer pursuit, he and Hearth would be long gone. He could afford another move in their nomadic life to buy his conscience a break.  
His decision made he ignored Uka and turned to face his friends supporting head, "Hearth, we've got to go," he said softly. Hearth tilted his head to better allow Tel to climb on and he slung his good leg over hearths neck, wincing as he asked his injured leg to carry his weight. He felt faint, the blood flowing from his chest had soaked his torn shirt and the knives still protruding from his thigh and shin were doing their best to soak his pants and he could feel blood filling his boot. They'd have to make camp soon, so he could tend his injuries. Deciding to leave the knives where they were he patted Hearth, "Let's fly," was all he said as he took one last glance back towards Uka and Ula. Uka wore a look on her face half way between amazed and disappointed with terror being conspicuously absent from the mix. "Tel, really?" she called up to him as he was lifted into the air. "You're really just going to fly away on your dragon friend?" she continued incredulously.  
Tel didn't want to waste time explaining himself, she'd likely never understand Hearths value to him anyway, and so tensed himself for take-off. He waited to feel hearths powerful muscles bunch beneath him in preparation but it never came. "Hearth, my friend, are you ok?" Tel asked, "Are you hurt? What's the matter?"  
Hearth responded with a slow step towards Uka and a low rumble from his chest. The witch, ever perceptive as she was, seemed to understand Hearth meant her no harm and stood her ground as the massive head came towards her. Tel understood better the extent of Hearth's communication. Hearth wished to stay. As the great horned head moved in close enough for the round snout to gently nose Uka's hair Hearth abruptly snorted, sniffed, snorted and sniffed again, drinking deep the witches scent. Another rumble followed by a cocked head and a querying roo further revealed Hearth's intentions to Tel. They were a team, not master and beast but friends and equals, and if Hearth had his heart set on staying Tel would not force him to go, even if he were able. Hearth had made few demands on their journey thus far and had acquiesced to all Tel's various and often arduous requests. But the demands he had made displayed an understanding of their situation no less keen, and Tel often thought keener, than his own. "Are you sure you want to stay?" Tel asked, "they'll likely attack us on sight."  
Hearth gave a small but emphatic nod, and the darkness of Tel's fears rushed to assail the light of his trust in hearths judgement. The assault was a mighty one and every disastrous scenario possible was dragged forward by his fevered imagination. His trust was sorely tested but won out in the end and if this was to end in disaster he could want no more than to die at his friend's side. If this was what Hearth wanted he would happily support him in it, even if that meant his life. Indeed Tel thought, should Hearth be slain his own life would surely end even if his heart kept beating. Drawing courage from such thoughts, dark and beautiful in even measure, he pushed aside the pain within and without and rubbed Hearth's forehead affectionately. "If you're sure my friend. You know I'd follow you into anything," he said. Hearth responded with a warm, soft warble and Tel raised his gaze to Uka. She wore a look more bemused than anything and stated simply, "are you ready to help now?"  
Tel smiled at the ridiculousness of her response to the goings on around her and replied with a nod, "We are, we'll move into the town and try to rout the goblins." Hearth seconded this with a determined growl, low and menacing, before fitting action to words and turning towards the smoke and chaos in the town down the hill behind them.  
"Wait for us," Uka replied enthusiastically before continuing in the face of Tel's surprised glance back, "you really need to learn how to cooperate Tel. You're not always on your own."  
The comment was an insightful one and had Tel not been dulled by pain and blood loss and so focussed on the coming fight he might have been struck harder by its profundity. As it stood he gave only a blank pause punctuated by a series of rapid blinks and then a weak nod. With that marking an end to immediate communications Hearth trotted off down the hill and into the maelstrom waiting in the smoky streets.

They rounded a corner to see a dog barking and snarling at three advancing goblins, holding them at bay while standing over the form of its cowering master. Hearth charged the goblins in time to save the man but not to save the valiant dog which was felled by a spear to the flank and died with a whimper. The cowering man shrieked in terror as Hearth and Uka set upon the goblins. It took the pair only an instant to despatch the trio with tooth and claw and animated hair. The man's face was drained of colour and his bladder had drained into his pants as he beheld what he thought might have been his murderers as likely as his saviours. Tel gave the man a curt nod of acknowledgement before patting hearths cheek and pointing out another band of the marauding greenskins chasing a woman gleefully, she was rapidly conceding her lead to the goblins who were growing all the more enthusiastic as they gained on her. Tel sincerely thought they were going to overhaul her before they could intervene. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Uka reached the same conclusion and began to chant in a strange and alien tongue full of rolling syllables, her hands moved in strange patterns and an eerie light followed them as they went leaving an afterglow that traced strange shapes into the air before her. With her hair beginning to writhe like a nest of vipers she gestured at the goblins and they fell asleep mid stride, all landing heavily on their oversized noses as their legs succumbed to the magical slumber. As Hearth moved over to stomp on each of the goblins in turn Tel's mind reeled. He'd never seen such magic worked. The level of power Uka displayed was truly terrifying, the spell as sure a death sentence as any fireball he thought as Hearth squashed another snoring and defenceless creature beneath his paws. He'd always wanted to be a mage, a wielder of magic, but he'd had neither the gift of sorcery nor the opportunity to study as a wizard. It was one of his great dreams to work magic and here was someone who could do so already, perhaps someone who could teach him too. The thought was such a long shot as to make it a fool's hope. Despite this Tel couldn't help but wonder for a split second if Hearth had known this and had based his decision on as much. Before he could consider this or build any fantastic thoughts of working magic another group of goblins came into view and snapped his attention back to the situation around him.

This group was unlike the others in its bearing and its four members were all armoured and wielded glaive-like polearms. They stood nearly a head taller than the members of the other groups and held themselves with a confident air. Uka immediately began to chant and gesture to summon her magics and Hearth dropped into a ready pose with Tel using his left hand to hold onto a horn and his right to hold his sword. On seeing Hearth the goblins didn't turn and flee as Tel had expected them to, instead they formed up into a crude phalanx and began to advance with sure strides. Tel felt Hearth begin to summon the fire of his breath which would make short work of their closely ranked foes but quickly laid his hand on his forehead and said, "not here my friend, the town is already fighting enough fires and us starting new ones will help none." The pressure and heat in Hearth's body subsided just as Uka finished her spell casting. He quickly turned his eyes to the advancing goblins, eager to see the effects of this latest work of wonder. Nothing happened to the goblins and a pang of disappointment was quickly replaced with a strange tingling in his leg. He looked down to see a soothing light shining out around the knives still lodged in his thigh and shin. "Pull them out quickly!" Uka yelled up to him. Stunned and amazed he did so and was rewarded with the wounds closing neatly and scabbing a split second later. The strange tingling feeling persisted after the last of the light was obscured by the scab. "We need you at your best," was Uka's reply to the look of gratitude Tel turned to her.  
"Thank... Thank you," Tel stuttered, he was grateful for the assistance but unsure why it had been given. To his mind a resource as valuable as healing magic was for those close to you and not strangers. Perhaps it was a move rationalised by the fact that if he and Hearth killed the goblins she wouldn't have to. Perhaps it wasn't and it was the genuine offer of help to one Uka considered an ally. Tel found the latter harder to accept.  
Thankfully the uncomfortable thoughts were quickly pushed back as the goblins moved within striking distance. Hearth employed his usual tactic of mauling and biting his foes to gory chunks and lunged with a claw. The goblins didn't flinch or make a feeble attempt to parry, they instead struck at the incoming limb. Hearth roared in pain and withdrew the arm. Blood was pouring from a deep gash just above his claws, large drops falling to the road as Hearth held his wound close to his side.  
"Let me down, I'll try to break them up," Tel yelled to Hearth as the goblins made a push forwards together. Hearth dipped and rolled his head and Tel dropped to the ground only an instant before man and beast were forced to give ground to the goblin advance. The goblins surged forward again with two focussed upon each of their enemies. Seeing an opportunity to get inside the reach of their polearms Tel batted away a probing glaive and stepped forward not back. Here, in close, their long hafted weapons were a liability and the short sword of Tel was ascendant. Grabbing a haft he gave it a sharp push, tipping its wielder off balance. He chopped at the hands of another and kicked at the legs of a third. "Go! Now Hearth!" he yelled. His position was a precarious one, he could easily be overwhelmed in a grapple by their advantage in numbers and if one had a backup dagger he might easily slide it into Tel's back while he was distracted, but he trusted Hearth and his faith was rewarded. Hearths great head came snapping forward, fangs bared, and bit a goblin polearm in two, taking its owners hand into the bargain.  
Thinking to take the advantage he aimed a powerful overhead chop at the disarmed creature, but Hearth too moved to finish what he started. Too late they both realised their respective mistakes. Tel frantically tried to turn the blade so that only the flat would strike, the momentum too far gone for the blow to be arrested. Hearth tried to angle away but to no avail. The blade made a hollow crack as it struck hearth squarely on the brow. The damage was not serious, the thick skin only nicked where the edge had slipped between two of hearths smaller facial scales, but the pain was enough to daze Hearth and the shock enough to do the same to tel.

The goblins quickly realised and pressed their advantage and all three that remained in command of their weapons aimed blows and struck. Hearth was struck only once and the weapon glanced off his scaled hide to no effect but Tel fared worse. He had only recovered enough of his wits to raise a block to the thrust of one of the goblins and the others glaive rushed in unopposed.  
Uka had not been idle however and her hair shot out to grab the unblocked weapon. Although not strong enough to stop the blow the hair was easily able to redirect it harmlessly into the ground. Its wielder now overextended after what it had thought to be a killing stroke Tel made a stab for its chest, the goblins forward momentum doing as much as Tel's thrust to impale it on the blade. It gurgled blood and went limp as Tel heaved the blade free of its body. Uka's hair shot forward again holding a rock and brained the goblin whose attack Tel had managed to block. Tel quickly turned to see how hearth fared and was pleased to see the dragon standing over the mauled bodies of the other two goblins. Tel rushed to his friend's side. "Hearth, I am so sorry," he said as he inspected the wound on his brow. It wasn't serious and Hearth gave him a gentle nuzzle by way of his own apology. More worrying to Tel was the rapidly pooling blood flowing from the deep gash in Hearth's leg. He held the limb limply, his claws only just touching the ground, and licked at the wound. "I'm afraid that might need binding my friend," Tel said and in response Hearth emphatically placed his foot full on the ground and tossed his head. He issued a low rumble of defiance and lowered his head for Tel to climb back up.

"In a moment, my friend, hang on" Tel said, and placed a reassuring hand on the proffered head. Tel turned to Uka and smiled. "Thank you for your help," he said as warmly as he could manage under the circumstances. He was still unsure of exactly why the help was being offered although he explained it by Uka having a stake in the town, friends or family perhaps, and him and Hearth being willing accomplices in their defence. Hearths motive for staying was still a mystery to Tel though and he constantly expected a call to arms with them as the target.  
"You're most welcome Tel, it pays to employ a little teamwork from time to time," Uka replied matter-of-factly. Tel threw his leg over hearths neck and mounted up before they all moved on. They encountered a few lone goblins and a few disorganised groups which they quickly either killed or scattered but their string of small but easy wins abruptly came to an end.  
A heavily armoured goblin riding a massive doglike creature the size of a small horse trotted around a corner in the road to meet them. It held a crude lance and shield and presented as a demented parody of a knight in shining armour. It bore the full panoply of what was clearly a leader among goblins and its collection of shiny bits of junk rattled against it armour like a wind chime. Without ceremony the creature lowered its lance and spurred its mount into a charge. Tel quickly realised that again the reach on their foes weapon gave him the advantage and Uka was particularly vulnerable to being impaled and ridded down as she was on foot. It seemed Hearth was less keen to admit to the weakness of their position and, to Tel's horror, rushed to meet the goblin knight.  
"Hearth! No!" Tel yelled as loud as his lungs would allow. Hearth heeded the warning and tried to dodge out of the path of the onrushing lance point but his momentum worked against him and he would come into strike range long before he managed to move far enough to the side. Without thinking in a moment of desperation Tel did the only thing he really could. He pulled his sword arm back and hurled the blade for all he was worth into the path of the advancing knight. The goblin rolled in its saddle and brought its shield up to deflect the missile easily but it had its desired effect. The lance was pulled out of Hearth's way by the roll and the two parties went flying past one another. Recovering his wits and almost surprised that his gamble had paid off Tel looked around and cursed the streets. While there was plenty of room for Hearth to manoeuvre there wasn't enough room for Hearths enormous wingspan to allow them to fly. Unconcerned with how close he'd just come to serious injury Hearth quickly turned around and set off back down the street after the goblin knight. The goblin was stationary and looking around and Tel glanced about trying to find Uka while Hearth continued his eerily stealthy advance. He decided that she must have hidden herself somewhere when she saw the goblin make his target. The aberrant dog sniffed the air and began to growl at the shadows clinging to a recessed door frame. The dog took a step towards the alcove, confident in its sense of smell and eager to have its victim.  
As its head drew close the shadows exploded into a dozen tentacles of hair each seizing a soft spot on the easy target presented by the slowly moving knight and dog. The dog yelped and flinched away as the tentacles squeezed and twisted its limbs, poked for its eyes and tried to invade its ears. The goblin fared no better and too late realised the true extent of its peril. Distracted by trying to stay atop the frantic dog it missed the half a dozen strands all making their way around its lance arm. All at once the arm was seized and bent in six different directions with the bones making an initial groan of protest before snapping. The goblin screamed and looked at its mangled arm only a heartbeat before Hearth's teeth closed around its neck and silenced its pain. The dog gave a final yelp before slumping to the ground, the retreating tendrils of hair revealing a broken neck.  
With the goblin knight and his mount dead silence descended on the street. When the silence refused to offer further direction by way of panicked screams for help each of them quietly blew a sigh of relief. As suddenly as it had struck the goblin raid was over.

"Well my friend, another melee survived," Tel said with a weak laugh though he was still unsure why they'd stayed for it. "Put me down and I'll have a look at that leg for you," he offered with a gentle pat to Hearth's cheek. Hearth dipped and rolled his head and Tel slid to the ground. He collapsed and pain shot up his left leg as he landed and he soon realised he'd reopened both the wounds Uka's magic had started on the road to recovery. This harsh return to reality left in the wake of the rapidly subsiding adrenalin slowly expanded to a pain in his chest and an immense feeling of weakness. The fatigue was almost overwhelming and only worsened as he hauled himself up onto his good leg and inspected Hearths badly gashed front foot. The wound was deep but it would heal Tel thought and Hearth gave it an experimental lick as if to get a second opinion. He warbled his agreement with Tel's unspoken assessment and then turned a concerned look on Tel. He sniffed at the bloody gashes and began to lick at them, giving Tel a reassuring nuzzle to his face every few licks. Although it stung like crazy Tel found he was far too tired to protest.

A cry of "Ha-haa!" came from Uka's general direction and her footsteps became louder indicating her approach. Tel turned to face her and steadied himself on Hearths good foreleg. "Well, looks like we won!" Uka said in an elated tone starkly at odds with her badly bruised and rapidly swelling face.  
"It seems so," Tel replied dryly as the pain and fatigue prevented his sharing in Ukas mirth. "Though what happened there?" he inquired delicately, indicating the region in question on his own face.  
"Oh, I took a shield to the head," she said as if it were of no great consequence, "hardly a fatal injury, a little knock to the nut like this. Besides it's a damn sight better than a lance to the head, eh?"  
Unsure of what to make of Uka's incredibly no nonsense approach to life Tel could manage only, "that's very true," before being interrupted by Hearth licking at his chest.  
"Is his saliva a healing agent?" Uka enquired, interest seemingly completely stolen by this possibility.  
"I'm not sure, I think so. I've never seen a wound turn septic that he's licked."  
"Fascinating. He's a remarkable creature, though not one of the true dragon species I shouldn't think. His colouration could only have him as a black dragon, but his horns are wrong for one of those; His temperament too. Tell me, where'd you come across him?"  
Before Tel could summon sufficient wit to concoct even the weakest of lies for the question he most wanted to dodge a shout of "There they are! That's them!" dropped his stomach to his ankles and shot his heart into his throat. He spun towards the sound and his worst fears were made flesh in the group of armed guards hurrying towards them. Unable to get aloft in the street he was unsure if Hearth would manage a climb onto the rooftops with his wounded paw. He turned about only to see another group of the guard making its way down the street from behind. Somehow he had always known it would come to this, he and Hearth having to fight their way out of Sandpoint. It seemed to be their fate to never find a safe harbour, to be hounded not for who they were or for what they'd done, but for what they were marked as. A dangerous beast and a slave.  
His increasingly delirious mind suddenly realised he didn't have his sword. Like a fool he'd thrown it away in a fight to protect the people who now came for him. Hearth stepped over Tel and shielded him under his bulk wrapping his tail in close and holding his wings by his sides. He issued a warning growl at one group before turning about, taking care not to trample Tel, and growing at the other.  
Both groups stopped once the warning had been so clearly given, obviously reluctant to advance on a creature of Hearths size. Tel felt Hearth's belly grow abruptly hot above him and felt the gathering of breath that would precede the torrent of flames. Hearth didn't send the fires of his breath washing over the guardsmen; instead he let them drip from the corners of his mouth and advanced. As flat a demand to get out of the way or die as could be made. Tel grabbed onto hearths uninjured leg and stood on his paw, the mighty limb carrying him along easily and removing the need on Hearths part to be careful with his feet.  
"Stop! Wait!" Uka yelled at Hearth but the dragon ignored her and maintained his steady pace towards the guardsmen who were rapidly giving ground. Changing tactics Uka cried, "he needs help. If his wounds aren't tended he'll likely slip into a sleep from which he will never wake!"  
Hearth paused at this momentarily and Uka worked the gain, "lower your weapons dolts!" she snapped at the guards.  
"I'm fine hearth, I'll be ok. Let's just get out of here," Tel said reassuringly.  
Uka, growing increasingly desperate for leverage wracked her brains for something to get the dragon to stop. Although she wasn't certain Tel would die of his injuries given what she suspected about the potent healing properties of the dragon's saliva she was unwilling to let fear drive Tel to roll those dice. Besides she couldn't just let troubled people run off into the woods to die, that would be most unprofessional. As if in answer to her prayers she heard among the guards, "are you sure it was them what saved you?" followed by, "you're suggesting it was the other dragon that saved me?" recognising the voice as the one who yelled the initial identification of Tel and Hearth her keen mind quickly put two and two together. The guards had been coming to their aid, this man had been saved by their actions and had rallied a group of guardsmen to find and assist them. This was an angle she could work.

"Sheriff, throw down your weapon and identify yourself. Assure him you mean him no harm. Tell him why you came looking for him. DO IT!" She commanded venomously after his initial pause. The sheriff dropped his weapon but continued to give ground before the advancing, fire dripping dragon while Uka noted the absence of Tel's further participation in the conversation worriedly.  
"I'm sheriff of Sandpoint," the man said, holding his palms open to hearth, "we don't mean either of you any harm. This man here told us you'd saved his life and urged us to join you in your efforts to repel the goblins. We figured we'd-... You sure it understands?" the man said the last plaintively to Uka, keenly aware of the ease with which Hearth could end him but also unwilling to refuse such a forcefully given order from the towns witch.  
"Of course I'm sure fool, otherwise I'd not've told you to do it!" Uka said irritated; If this fell through because of the idiocy of the sheriff...  
"We figured you might need help," the sheriff continued, "safety in numbers and all that. We don't attack those that help us in Sandpoint, nor do we condemn folks based on their race after they give such assistance." The passion with which the man spoke reached through Hearths misgivings and the dragon ceased his advance. The mighty black head craned to regard the figure clutching weakly to his foreleg and offered a rumbling coo. "Are you sure?" Tel asked groggily. The great head paused a moment, then nodded, concern writ clear in the fist sized eyes. "If you're sure my friend," Tel was far less sure, but his mind was swimming too much for him to form a firm opinion one way or another. But he could trust Hearth, of that he was certain.  
Hearth straightened his tail and folded back his wings before giving Tel a reassuring nudge with his snout and lifting his head. Tel felt the fire in the chest above him subside and the guards moved off at the sheriff's command with Hearth and Uka in tow. "Where is the infirmary being established?" Uka asked the sheriff.  
"It's been set up in the cathedral, priest Zantus is tending to the wounded there."  
Uka quickly realised the problems posed with putting Tel in the general infirmary, the primary one of those problems was 10' high at the shoulder and breathed fire. A solution began to form in her mind. She'd seen Tel helping Ameiko earlier in the day and now that she thought about it that should have struck her as strange at the time. How did those two know one another? Tel was, by his own word, just passing through for the festival. Perhaps he stayed at the Rusty Dragon overnight and had a room there?  
"Sheriff, take Tel and Hearth... no the dragon is Hearth... To the Rusty Dragon, I believe Tel has a room there where he can recover," Uka said. As soon as she'd seen to Tel and Hearth she'd head up to the temple and lend Zantus what help she may. It was going to be a long night...  
When they arrived at the Rusty Dragon 10 minutes later they found Ameiko alone dragging dead goblins from the interior. Without breaking from her grim work or sparing them so much as a glance she said to the leading group of guards, "sorry guys, I'm closed for the night. The goblins got into the kitchen."  
"We are pleased to see you unharmed after the raid Ameiko, not everyone can make such a claim, but we aren't here for a meal," the sheriff said. Her dismissal rejected, and seeming to reproach her own earlier brusqueness, she looked up at the group. Her gaze quickly turned to the figure at the back looming over the rest and she froze. "Is that a-" she began before Uka cut her off.  
"Yes it's a dragon and no, it's not dangerous. He and his human friend are injured. We believe he has a room with you," Uka said, "he'll need to be taken there so I can see to his injuries and he'll likely need to stay a few days to get back on his feet. He has plenty of coins to extend his stay if the room was booked only temporarily."  
"Of course," Ameiko answered, still fixated on Hearths impressive bulk, "I've got a pretty full house as when the raid started I gathered as many as I could and brought them here. But I'm sure we can make room for one more." she seemed strained as she spoke.  
"Do you need a hand Ameiko?" the sheriff inquired.  
"I'll manage sheriff, thank you, I just needed to get them out of the kitchen before the blood had a chance to spoil any of the food," she replied.  
She turned to Uka, "take the injured guy upstairs when he gets here and find a place for him. And when you're done with him would you have a look at some of the others up there? There's nothing too serious I don't think and I've patched them up as best I could, but a more skilled look over couldn't hurt."  
"He's here with us actually. Sheriff you can be of no further use here now, I recommend you check the people in their houses and bring the wounded to the cathedral. He doesn't need a guard escort anymore."  
The sheriff and the guards, initially blinking in surprise at the order and then nodding in acquiescence, moved off and Uka turned back to Ameiko. The departing guards had revealed the bloody and stooped figure by Hearths leg and Ameiko, despite her apprehension of the dragon, advanced slightly to better see his face. Although she couldn't see it, hidden as it was by a scarf, that proved just as positive an identification. "Tel? Tel is that you?" she asked as she took another step forward. She stopped when Hearth gave an uncertain rumble but Tel quieted him with a gentle hand pressed to his chest. "Yeah, it's me," Tel said, slowly standing out from under his friend. Hearth lowered his head to alongside Tel as he left the steadying presence of his legs, offering support to his limping companion. His offer was immediately seized upon and Tel leaned heavily on Hearth's cheek as Ameiko, realisation dawning in tired eyes, said, "That's the reason you stayed outside of town, isn't it? You had a friend out there waiting."  
The secret was out and Tel saw no point in denying it, so he nodded slowly before summoning the strength to say, "His name is Hearth. Hearth this is Ameiko, she's a... She's not an enemy."  
"Introductions can wait until you're not bleeding to death you cagey fool," Uka cut in. "We might as well head around the back, the dragon can't stay here or he might cause a panic. Ameiko does that suit?"  
"Sadly it does. Usually I'd be worried about a drag- Hearth spooking the horses but the goblins killed all the horses in the raid," Ameiko said and she was gratified to see Tel's face brighten at the use of Hearths name. Her years as an innkeeper had honed her natural charisma and given her an eye for the smaller pleasantries that Uka lacked. As Ameiko led them around to the courtyard and stables at the rear of the inn a lot of things fell into place. She couldn't figure why Tel had been so protective of his secrets around her, when he thought she already knew them, but now she saw that his secrecy had been to protect more than himself. No wonder he would never stay long, or that he wouldn't want a ranger checking in on him. Another thing occurred to her as they walked; if Tel had been going hungry, what had Hearth been eating? "Tel," she asked, "What has Hearth been eating?" the look of pain and guilt that passed his features made her immediately regret the question. "Whatever he could that wouldn't get us discovered," he replied, "so... Carrion mostly." Hearth seemed to detect his shame and purred reassuringly to Tel who only pursed his lips and looked down. Ameiko saw an opportunity to ease his pain and said, "I've a stable full of freshly killed horses, does he eat those?" Hearth seemed to cotton on to the fact that they were talking about food and suddenly Ameiko felt Hearth's attention fully upon her, that huge eye looking at her intently whenever it wasn't obscured by Tel limping along. "I'm sure he does, and I have the funds to pay for them now, after the festival."  
"That's why you wanted to make some money? To by hearth food?"  
Tel nodded.  
"You don't need to pay for them, Sandpoint doesn't send away those who save its citizens hungry. Besides," she added, "we'd only have to get rid of them anyway."  
"We don't need your charity," Tel said defensively, "we can pay."  
Ameiko's expression of sympathy deflated his defiance somewhat and she spoke softly when she said, "Tel, not everyone wants something from you. Good people help those in need because it's the right thing to do, not because they expect payment. And in any case, it is we that owe you and Hearth for risking your lives to help us. The dead horses are on us."

"If you two are quite done sermonising and being stubborn," Uka inserted herself into the conversation with her usual grace, "we have work to do. Ameiko, I'll need some clean linen for bandages and any silk thread you have and a needle. Also a bottle of something potent for the pain and to wash the wounds. Are you squeamish? No? Good. Then you can help me with the wounds. Get one of the able bodied people you rescued to fix Tel some food while we work." her string of orders ended just as they entered the courtyard and Ameiko immediately jogged to the inns back door and disappeared inside. The silence lasted only an instant while Uka assessed the situation. "Tel, I take it if we move you inside Hearth will try to come in after us. Yes? Ok, I thought he might. Can he be distracted with food? No? I thought that would also be the case. Ok, get Hearth to eat something while Ameiko gets my supplies. We'll put you over there in that half empty hay shed." Seeing sense in her requests and being too tired to argue even if he didn't he looked down at his armrest, "Hearth, those are for you," he said, pointing at the dead horses. Hearth snorted disdainfully and slowly moved his head to face Tel directly, making sure he gave Tel time to move his supporting hands along his face as he did. He nuzzled his friend affectionately, gave him a lick and a caring purr and refused to move. "Hearth, my friend, please. It would lessen my guilt greatly if you would eat and my wounds are in capable hands." Hearth looked at the horses longingly but turned back to Tel. "Hearth, I'll be fine. Eat, please." Hearth looked at Uka and then to Ameiko who had just come out of the back door with arms full of Uka's supplies and gave a mock growl before turning to Tel with a questioning coo. "They mean us no harm Hearth, I'm sure of it. We can... Trust them." the words sounded strange as he said them, and part of him dearly wanted to believe them. The tired, pained and weakened by blood loss part of Tel desperately wanted it to be true, true so that he didn't have to keep pushing on in this condition. The part of him that had kept Hearth and he alive and free however refused to believe it, it saw treachery and self-interest only. You need to fight, tooth and nail, for your existence it claimed. When you stop pushing you die and no one is going to push anyone's burdens but their own. "I'm sure of it," he said finally. Hearths features slowly softened into what Tel thought passed for smiling and he realised that Hearth had felt these people trustworthy all along, that his last suspicious growl had been a concession to Tel to ensure he felt safe here before hearth dropped his vigil to eat. It was a comfort given when Hearth, hungry as he was, had already decided his own opinion but had waited for Tel to agree before acting on it. Knowing that Hearth had checked his comfort before seeing to his own brought a warm smile to his tired face. "Thank you my friend," he said, "now go and eat."

Hearth ate ravenously, tearing the horses into bloody chunks and swallowing them whole. Giving the messily feeding Hearth a wide berth as she hurried over Ameiko said as she reached them, "sorry it took so long, I had to explain to them that there was a dragon out the back, that it was allowed to eat the horses and that it wouldn't eat them." As she said this Tel glanced up at the second storey windows to see them crammed full of faces, though it was too dark to tell if they wore expressions of awe or horror.

"Good, everything's here," Uka said as Ameiko laid out the items requested on a stool in the hay shed. She thrust a bottle into Tels hands. "Drink half of that and lie down on the fresh straw there," she instructed. As Tel did so he watched the glances Hearth made his way every few bites until he laid down and all he could see was the shed roof, punctuated by the bobbing heads of Ameiko and Uka. He could feel the fire of the drink in his belly and its warmth chased away some of the pain. Lying there in the hay staring up at the timber roof and knowing that Hearth was only a short way away finally getting a decent feed Tel could relax a little. He let his tensed muscles loosen and an involuntary shiver passed through his body which caused the two faces to stop momentarily and look at him. He saw the bottle come back into view and thought he'd be offered the pleasant proposition of another drink but instead it was poured onto his chest. He was dimly aware of a stinging sensation and a cooling feeling somewhere on his chest but his attention was elsewhere.

He watched Ameiko's face move in and out of his field of view, looking at him and talking to Uka. Being so on edge as he'd always been since the escape he hadn't really ever looked at anyone else as more than a potential villain. In fact Ameiko was the only person he'd held more than a single hurried conversation with in months, possibly years now. Now that he stopped to look at her he realised that she was beautiful. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed before just how attractive she was. Her exotic features and stark white forelocks only enhanced the attraction and the mole by the side of her mouth lent her face a level of personality and uniqueness Tel found compelling. Despite the strain on her face it couldn't hide the warmth he saw there, the warmth he should have noticed that first night she fed him when he was to her a perfect stranger and a thief.

Suddenly Uka's face was only a hands breadth from his and she was muttering something to Ameiko. Tel realised that she too was beautiful, despite the darkening bruise on her cheek. He flinched as something tightened around his neck but he was pinned back to the hay by Uka's firm hand. "This is coming off," she said matter-of-factly and before Tel could figure out what she was referring to or what was strangling him the pressure on his neck abruptly ceased. To his horror he saw Uka bunch his face covering scarf and toss it to one side. He suddenly felt sick and so very exposed, like he was walking through a crowd naked, all of him open to the judgement and criticism of the masses. "Hey, no, I need that," he protested and tried to sit up to retrieve his scarf. Uka was on him before he'd even gotten his shoulders clear of the hay. She jabbed a thumb under his collar bone and digging in her fingernail drove him back to horizontal. "Ameiko told me your secret and neither of us have any intention of letting you take it to the grave. And I'm sure Hearth would much prefer you to live as well," Uka scolded, "now hold still, we won't spread it around, and even if we did not one of the townsfolk would care. Gods know it wouldn't be the most colourful past or the juiciest gossip in town." Mollified somewhat by Uka's assurances and his usual cynicism eroded by the drink he ceased trying to sit and rolled back into his appreciation of the pair. Uka cut a fine figure with her corset only accentuating her already impressive assets and he wondered if she used magic to enhance them. Surely she could make a mint selling potions that did that. His eyes roaming he noticed Ameiko had rolled up her sleeves to reveal a beautiful tattoo on her upper arm where a stylized snake slithered across her surprisingly muscular and toned arms.

He felt something pulling on his shirt and called on his arm to bat it away. The limb was sluggish to answer the request and as soon as it began to move it was pinned to his side by Uka. "Hold. Still." she said sternly and with a heave she tore the remains of his shirt off. Tel stifled a giggle as his mind mutinously conjured images of the pair of them ripping his clothes off under very different circumstances. Uka soon wiped the grin that had spread on his face by digging into the wound on his chest with a kitchen knife. "Ahh!" Tel cried in pain.  
"Don't be a child Tel, the wound needs to be properly cleaned. Now for the last time, hold still," Uka said impatiently. Ameiko gave him a sympathetic look and he returned it with a smile as best he could before Uka resumed her digging.

A short while later a needle and thread had appeared in Uka's hands and he drunkenly thought she was going to repair his shirt for him. He was disappointed shortly when she began to stitch him closed instead. Though he felt only a slight pulling sensation on his skin as she worked it was still unpleasant. So he distracted himself with watching the snake on Ameiko's arm flex and writhe as she passed things back and forward to Uka. His attention focussed on the moving snake as only a drunk man's could he didn't notice the butchers knife passed between the two women. He felt Ameiko pull his boot off and the slight exertion of strength made the tattoo move in an interesting manner. He then suddenly noticed Uka slip the blade of the knife down the front of his pants. A wave of panic swept over him. Had she read his lewd thoughts? Of course she had, she was a witch. His intoxicated and blood deprived mind conceived the worst. She was going to cut off his manhood as a poetic punishment. Perhaps he could save the situation with honesty by offering a more respectful apology. "I'm sorry for my thoughts but I really do think you're both beautiful," Tel blurted out when his more rational mind failed in its bid to intercept the wad of stupidity before it reached his mouth. They both looked at him, Ameiko with an amused smile and Uka with a blank face.  
"Thank you Tel, we're both quite aware of that given the changing landscape down here," came Uka's completely flat tone. Tel died. He snapped his gaze to the roof directly above him and began a meticulous inspection of the roofing timbers as he felt his face flush. He only heard Uka's commanding voice as she cut his pants off and continued her work on the other two wounds, "don't look girl. Pass me the other knife. Pay attention. Thank you."

The voices became gradually fainter and his head swam, he abandoned his examination of the roof and just unfocussed his eyes. Lying there still and oblivious to the world he just let time pass. He felt truly carefree for the first time in as far back as his mind could remember. Which at the time was all of about 20 seconds, but that lessened the effect none. Sometime later, Tel had no idea how much later, a blanket was thrown over him and Uka's voice again invaded his reverie, "get him some food and water while I go and see to the people you've got upstairs. After that I'll be at the cathedral if you need me."

Suddenly Uka's face appeared in his vision, the bruise lending the scowl additional weight, "and no monkey business between the two of you. You'll reopen the wounds and probably die." as quickly as she'd come her face was gone and it took Tel's mind, thoughts flowing like cold syrup, far longer to catch her meaning than it should have. By the time he'd prepared his witty response the slam of the inns back door marked her passage beyond its reach.

A short while later Ameiko returned with a bowl of soup and half a loaf of bread. Tel sat up slowly and propped himself against the haystack. He was kept awake only by the pain, despite the best efforts of the drink and fatigue. "Here," Ameiko said and offered the bowl and bread. Tel took them and gave an awkward nod of thanks; almost preferring the hunger to the embarrassment that clawed at his insides. He dipped the bread into the soup and tried a mouthful. He found it to be delicious, some sort of spiced fish soup. Clearly the approval was written on his face when Ameiko said, "glad you like it, it's the Rusty Dragon's speciality you know."  
"It's very good," Tel said quickly, maintaining his drunken stare at the soup. He went back to eating, hoping to avoid further conversation and so was disappointed when he heard, "so, how do you know Uka?"  
"Hmmm?" Tel responded, pretending not to have heard her.  
"How do you know Uka?" Ameiko calmly repeated. Seeing that there was no escape he forced his unresponsive tongue into action and said, "her cat bought one of my bracelets today... Oh, also she changed the prices on my stuff... Also Hearth seems to like her and that's how we got talked into helping Sandpoint."  
Deciphering his slurred ramblings, as only an innkeeper could, Ameiko pressed for more, "so Uka talked you into helping?"  
"Not really, I was set to go. She talked Hearth into helping, I think. Or maybe Hearth wanted to stay anyway. I don't really know," he said and ate another mouthful of soupy bread.  
"So you stayed because Hearth wanted to?"  
"Yeah, he's funny like that."  
"He's done this before?"  
"Huh? No, he's never gotten us into a fight before. But occasionally he'll get all funny about a tree, or a cave or whatever. I think he knows some things I don't, so I just take his word on it."  
"So you've known Hearth a while then I take it?"  
"Yeah, ever since he got me tried for dereliction of duty," Tel said with a chuckle.

Had Tel not been drunk and hungrily focussed on his soup he might have noticed the mix of satisfaction and curiosity that cut through the fatigue on Ameiko's face.  
"Oh, so you were in the army?" she asked, skilfully hiding the press for information behind easy, conversational tones.  
"Not really, everyone in Cheliax has to do a stretch of training in the local militia. That's when I met Hearth, you know?"  
Now we're getting somewhere she thought and said smoothly, "no I didn't, what happened?"  
"Heh, it's a long story," Tel said vaguely and ate some more.  
"So you were in the militia," Ameiko prompted before Tel could build any mental barrier to continuing his tale. Although she did feel a little guilty at the methods used to get the information out of the cagey fellow her curiosity had gotten the better of her.  
"Wuh? Oh yeah. So I was guarding the walls of my town when suddenly there's this massive commotion at the butcher's storehouse. And then, right, this dragon explodes out of the wall and onto the street with a whole smoked hog in its jaws. The dragon is Hearth by the way."  
Nodding to assure him that she understood she allowed him to continue.  
"So Hearth come running towards me down the street, and I'm terrified, and I'm manning the ballista so I take aim. But then, I don't know, I saw his face and he just looked... Tired, y'know? Like he was sick of his life and didn't really care if I shot him or not." Tel looked over to Hearth who was just finishing off his third horse and smiled before going on. "So I couldn't bring myself to... Anyway he leaped up onto the wall not 3 feet from me. He could have killed me then and there, but he just gave me a look and ran off. After that everyone in town hated me. Turns out that Hearth had killed a group of guards, cooked the butcher and been raiding outlying estates. You know what the messed up thing is? Even knowing all that I, I still would have let him go. He's worth all those he killed a hundred times over."

He said the last with a deep conviction that alerted Ameiko to the fact that the combination of food, concentration on the story and time seemed to be rapidly sobering Tel. She considered plying him with more drink while he was still likely to take it, but her conscience would hear none of it. It already berated her for the dishonest means by which she'd learned this much and reminded her that it was likely treatment such as this which made Tel so shut off to being with. Seeming to sense Tel's changing mood as well Hearth chose that moment to come plodding languidly over. He paused at the entrance to the hay shed and gave the two of them a look she could not interpret. Tel just smiled at the dragon and pushed himself stiffly to his feet, clutching his blanket against the cold night air. Ameiko stood too, gathering that this was a common occurrence between the two and looked at Tel. "Move your stool over against the wall there if you would," he said, placing the empty bowl on top of it. Ameiko did so and as soon as the stool was out of the way Hearth, crouching slightly to get under the low hanging eaves, made his way into the hayshed. He curled up around Tel and lying on his side stretched the bottom pair of his legs towards one another. Tel then sat on the elbow of a foreleg, stretched his legs down along its length and leaned back against the great barrel of Hearths chest.  
Ameiko almost laughed, "Is this how you sleep every night?"  
"Pretty much," an increasingly cogent Tel replied, "he's warm and surprisingly comfortable. And if it rains..." as if sensing his moment Hearth extended a wing over his side to cover his legs and the reclining Tel along with them before slowly retracting it and giving a smug snort. "He doubles as a tent," Tel said with a smile and patted the chest at his back.  
"A dragon of many talents I see," Ameiko said and she raised a hand to pat Hearth but quickly withdrew it and turned to Tel. "May I?" she asked.  
"Don't ask me," Tel replied earnestly.  
Growing quickly impatient with the delay in the offered affections Hearth nudged Ameiko before she had a chance to turn back to him. Catching her balance and a little taken aback by the gesture she patted his brow gently. Satisfied that the promised tribute had been paid Hearth curled his head around Tel and closed his eyes. "Good night my friend, I hope you enjoyed you meal," Tel whispered and Hearth gave a soft snort of understanding before dozing off.  
Standing there alone with the quickly sobering Tel Ameiko suddenly felt the weight of the situation. She was unsure how he'd react to having told her as much as he did, and to doing so being in the condition he had. She was also acutely aware that she no longer held the advantage of being the only sober one. On the one hand now that he was sober he was unlikely to be quite as forward as he had been, possibly even less so than usual in light of how much he'd already said, and she was incredibly tired from a day that had been busy since dawn. On the other she was curious and he hadn't expressed regret or said anything defensive just yet.  
She decided not to push her luck. If she tried too hard now, given what had already transpired she might not get a second chance; especially when Tel had already alluded to the fact that he had no real compulsion to stay in Sandpoint. If she gave them a reason he and Hearth might be gone before she woke up in the morning. That thought nagged at her as she'd learned a little, but not much, and she thoroughly enjoyed the stories of those who had interesting ones to tell. "Well I think Hearth has the right idea," she said at length and picked up the empty bowl. She turned to look at Tel whose eyelids were already growing heavy. "Goodnight you two, I hope you both feel better in the morning. Assuming you do there'll be breakfast on the house if you're keen to stick around for it," she added as she turned to leave. She was hoping that the thought of a decent breakfast might give weight to the proposition of staying should the desire to leave arrive in either of their minds. "Thanks for the food and shelter," was all Tel replied.   
"You're most welcome; it's the least we could do."  
She noticed that his tired mind hadn't remembered to put his scarf on and over his face again and she also remembered that under his blanket he was quite naked. She considered pointing these things out to him and fetching a change of clothes but it gave him yet another reason to hang around in the morning so she said nothing. Her conscience chafed again under her slightly dishonest means but the thought of getting to know the whole of the pair's tale soothed those worries. As she made her way back to the inn she though she heard behind her, "I'll see you in the morning." But she couldn't be sure. As she closed the door behind her the one thing she was sure of was that she needed rest; and so she made her way to her room, threw herself down on her bed and quickly fell asleep.  
Tel heard Ameiko close the door to the inn and his mind boiled as he closed his eyes and tried for sleep. What had he just done? That one stupid moment of weakness might come to cost Hearth and he their lives. He'd said too much. Armed with that information she might bring them undone in any number of ways, motivation coming easily in the massive bounty she'd collect on their heads. Sure she might have a conscience, but how heavily did that weigh with her against gold? He considered rousing Hearth and disappearing into the night but the horrified and sickening feeling didn't settle in his stomach like it should have done. Hearth trusted them he had to remind himself and he trusted Hearth with his life. In the light of Hearths trust he let go of his fearful concerns and he found himself strangely at peace. The memories of the horrors they had escaped seemed more manageable when he thought of them as the price of his dear friend slumbering contentedly beneath him. A bargain at twice the price he thought happily as sleep at last claimed him.  
Ameiko woke with a start to a fierce knocking on her door. She waited for a pause in the assault and asked sleepily, "Who's there?" Despite the innocence of the question she reached for her rapier and found the cool touch of its grip incredibly reassuring. "It's me," Uka's voice said from the other side of the door, there was a meow and the voice amended, "and Ula."  
"Uka, what's wrong?" Ameiko asked as she rolled herself out of bed. She was still fully clothed as she hadn't bothered to change into her nightshirt before she'd gone to sleep what seemed only minutes ago.  
"It's nearly dawn and I… I'm too tired to head back to my cabin. I was wondering if you had a room for the night."

Ameiko felt immense sympathy for the witch; any admission of weakness from Uka was extracted under only the direst circumstances. That didn't change the fact that she didn't have a single spare room however. Bone tired herself and aware that Uka had been tending the wounded solidly since the end of the raid she was unwilling to send her away. "Come in and I'll sort something out for you," she said as she rubbed her tired eyes, willing them to focus on the dim room. Uka opened the door and the magical light that bobbed at her shoulder illuminated Ameiko's room. Uka was covered nearly head to toe in blood and her shoulders were slumped forward in exhaustion. To Ameiko's surprise she only said, "I'm going to have to threaten to turn people into toads for months now to get any peace and quiet. They all seem to think I've gone soft. Familiarity breeds contempt you know." Ameiko only smiled and replied, "Uka, you can take my bed and I'll catch some sleep in my chair."   
"Oh, I'm sorry Ameiko, I forgot you had a full house upstairs."  
"Don't be. It looks like you need rest more than most," Ameiko said as she pulled her spare set of blankets from their place in her cupboard. When she turned back to Uka she noticed that the woman had somehow changed her usual, pointed, witches hat into a pink, soft nightcap.  
"Ameiko, I'll not throw you out of your own bed on my account. Ula and I will be perfectly comfortable in the chair." Having said this Uka sat down in the chair and took the blankets from Ameiko's hands with a tentacle of hair and threw them over herself. The blankets had barely settled into place before the witch was sound asleep, Ula purring in her lap.

Ameiko looked at the sleeping pair and was struck by the thought that, in many ways, she had a very similar pair sleeping in her hay shed. She allowed herself a smile as the room faded back to darkness, Uka's magical light failing as she slept. She had some very unusual tenants. You really do get to know some interesting people as an innkeeper she thought. She looked down at where she knew her bed to be, its form hidden by the gloom her eyes had yet to adjust to and reached out for it. Her hand quickly located the mattress which felt softer than ever and once again the pull of sleep was far stronger than the pull of propriety and she collapsed into her bed fully clothed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
Tel was woken by a tolling bell and no sooner than his consciousness had established which way was up and what the sound was his bladder demanded he relieve himself. When he finally opened his eyes the sun was starting its daily climb across the sky and Tel though it closer to midmorning than to dawn. Hearth still slumbered beneath him and the slow rise and fall of his chest coupled with the steady rhythm of his heart begged Tel to go back to sleep. His bladder however would not be denied. As his senses slowly returned and his mind managed to grasp concepts beyond sleeping and his bladder he froze. His surroundings were not the leafy greens and browns of the forests he had awoken in for the vast majority of the last year, nor was it the grey of the occasional cave he and Hearth had stayed in. It was the red of the hay shed’s timbers and the yellow of its contents. His somewhat hazy memory of the events of last night came back to him in fragments and he fought panic. They must’ve sought shelter here and then overslept, it was a miracle they hadn’t been discovered. “Hearth, Hearth my friend, wake up,” he said, gently rocking the great head. Hearth cracked open an eye and regarded Tel with an apathetic look. “Hearth, we need to be ready to move, and quickly. I don’t know what possessed me to stay here last night,” he said but before he could continue Hearth gave him a concerned look. The memories started to return in their entirety under the subtle prod of the dragon’s concerned expression and Tel put his mind to piecing together the complete image. He’d been selling jewellery at the festival, there’d been a raid and they’d stayed to help at Hearth’s insistence. He remembered them being cornered by guards in a narrow street and then taken here and having his injuries treated. His memory mockingly continued to complete the events of last night and he blushed again in embarrassment. He looked down at Hearth who was clearly aware of what that blush was for and the dragon made the series of croaks Tel had come to associate with a laugh.   
The panic receding as he came to remember the conditions of their stay he couldn’t help but find the dragon’s laugh infectious. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up you. I’m just a little out of practice is all,” Tel jokingly shot back. To this Hearth only cocked an eyebrow. “Well, you’re a useless wingman,” the joke died on his tongue, murdered by a surge of worries, and he let it trail off. “Hearth, I really hope you’re right about this. I trust you; you know I do. But this… It’s a big risk,” he said. Hearth fixed him with a serious expression and cooed at him soothingly. Tel couldn’t wipe the concern from his face until he felt muscles bunch at his back. “No, Hearth, we don’t need to leave,” Tel quickly said and felt the muscles relax beneath him. He forced a smile and continued, “I’m sorry, I was wrong to doubt you.” Tel felt so very guilty. He trusted Hearth totally but he was letting his worries encroach on that trust and what was worse was that Hearth was prepared to back down on the one real request he’d ever made in their travels for those worries. As if reading his mind Hearth cooed again and Tel gave his friend a loving rub on the cheek and touched his forehead to Hearths. He was determined that he wasn’t going to let what had become a very habitual paranoia give Hearth any more reason to rethink his, to Tel’s mind strange, decision to stay and help Sandpoint. His bladder pointedly made its request to be emptied again and filled with resolve he sat up to find an appropriate place to do so. The pain in his leg was much less than he had expected, though still severe. Tel groaned loudly at the stream of complaints from his leg. “How’d your injury pull up this morning?” Tel enquired of the watching Hearth who promptly showed him. The wound was already gone with only a slightly lighter line in the scaled skin to mark it ever having been there in the first place. “I’ll always be jealous of that,” Tel remarked as he tenderly swung his legs from their place on Hearths foreleg. As he moved the blanket a sudden draft of air between his legs alerted him to the fact that he was naked. “Err, Hearth, have you seen my clothes?” he asked. Hearth warbled and pointed with his head to a pile of bloody rags thrown into a corner. “Oh, well that’s going to be a problem,” he said and pushed himself slowly to his feet while wrapping himself in the blanket. With his decency maintained and his bladder on the warpath he made his hobbling way into the small grassed lane that led to the stables to relieve himself. Keenly aware of the fact he was lacking his scarf and that his brand was, in the scarfs absence, pretty much impossible to miss he made a quick check to make sure no one was there. But the lane was deserted, and he heard no sounds indicating that it might not be soon, so he emptied his bladder and limped back to the hay shed.   
When he got back to the courtyard he saw Hearth had dragged himself out of the shed and was happily sunbathing in the morning rays. “Look at you, you great lizard. Already think you own the place,” Tel said by way of greeting. Hearth only huffed dismissively and didn’t even open an eye. Suddenly there was a noise from the upper floor of the inn and Tel shot his gaze up to the window overlooking the area. He’d completely forgotten about that window and immediately that paranoid, survivalist stream of thought began to flow through his mind. How could he be so careless? This kind of thing is what would get the pair of then captured or worse. With an effort of will he arrested the runaway thoughts and focussed on the one thing more important to him than his paranoia- his trust in Hearth. He couldn’t help his hand moving reflexively to his face however in an attempt to cover the scar there. Holding his face with one hand and his blanket with the other he looked up at the window to see a group of heads all duck away from his gaze. Seeing nothing else to do he began to shuffle towards the hay shed to retrieve his scarf.   
He’d just made it to level with Hearth when the inns door opened and an incredibly scruffy looking Ameiko blinked into the morning light. Her eyes quickly adjusting to the illumination she spotted him and said tiredly, “morning Tel, glad to see you’re still here.”  
“Morning Ameiko,” he said, trying for a smile.   
“How’s the leg?” Her tone sounded forced and between that and her appearance Tel surmised that she hadn’t gotten much sleep. In fact, on closer inspection, he noticed that she was in the same clothes she wore last night and they still bore the stains of his blood.  
“It’s good,” Tel lied, feeling that he too could use a few extra hours of rest.   
“Tel, what are you doing holding your face? You’re not that hideous.”  
“I’m looking for my scarf. I need-”  
“I swear on Shelyn’s tits Tel, if you say anything about that face branding.”  
The tone of her voice clearly marked that she was far too tired to deal with what she thought was a non-issue. Seeming to realise that her words had come out harder than she’d meant them she said, “Tel, I take it from Hearth that the two of you are staying a little longer at least and it’s going to get ridiculous you wandering around with your scarf over your face.”  
“Better ridiculous than reported.”  
“Tel, you’re a long way from Cheliax here and frankly,” she said looking up at the overlooking window to scatter another group of faces, “I think the dragon is a bit of a giveaway.”  
A smile was spread over her face when she looked back and it was slowly mirrored on his. Her warm smile, her logic and primarily his faith in Hearth all fought to drop his hand from his face. He slowly moved his hand from the branding and steadied himself to meet her gaze. As he did so he was again struck by her exotic beauty and it seemed not even a sleepless night could dull it. Seeing an opportunity to make a joke of his own he said, “Alright, I can do without the scarf. But the rest of the clothes I won’t compromise on.”  
It had the desired effect and her grin widened into a toothy smile and her shoulders bobbed. “I think I can meet you on that one,” she said, “come inside and I’ll sort you a change of clothes and everyone’s breakfast.”  
The mention of breakfast suddenly had Tel feeling incredibly hungry and he realised that this would be his first properly cooked and served meal in 6 years. The thought nearly stunned him. He realised he’d forgotten what it was like to have a meal placed in front of him or for that matter what a proper meal even tasted like. Years of the stodgy diet of a gladiator followed by another year of foraged food had thoroughly eroded his appreciation of food. Although Ameiko had fed him now twice before neither time had been anything like a normal inn experience. The first time was a meal of leftovers to a feverish and starving would-be thief and the second, just last night, was what she had that wasn’t fouled by goblins. But this time he could do something normal again. He was still uneasy about his face, and he knew people would stare, but Ameiko was right in saying that given the presence of Hearth the branding was by far the less conspicuous identifier. He began to hobble over to his things to fetch his coin purse, fat and round after yesterday’s sales.   
“Where are you going?” Ameiko asked with the laugh still in her tone.  
“To get my coin purse,” Tel replied.   
“Your first joke was funnier,” she deadpanned.   
Knowing by now not to argue and smiling at her despite himself he said simply, “Thank you,” before following her inside.  
He followed Ameiko through the kitchen and to the door of her room. “Wait here as quietly as you can, Uka slept through that damn bell and I’d rather one of us gets a good night of sleep than none,” she said before opening the door just enough to slip inside. She didn’t close it fully behind her and Tel leaned across to the gap to peer into the room. It was darker inside, the room’s one window still closed, but Tel could make out Ameiko as she searched through a cupboard and Uka fast asleep in a padded chair. The witch and her cat looked so peaceful as they slept Tel thought, her face bereft of the stern expression it often wore. She was wearing the most brightly coloured pink felt witch’s hat Tel had ever seen and he wondered what drove a woman as brutally practical as Uka to indulge in such a thing. Tel also wondered if perhaps she wasn’t quite as hard and practical as she presented herself to be and the way she had Ula curled up comfortably on her lap, still wearing her golden bracelet, definitely supported that argument. He noticed movement within the room and he saw Ameiko approaching the door with a change of clothes over one arm. She slipped through and closed the door quietly behind her. “There you go,” she said, handing him the clothes, “if you want some privacy you can change out of that blanket in the panty over there.”   
“Thank you, I will,” Tel said as warmly as he could manage through the pain and lingering anxiety. He took the clothes and retreated into the pantry to change. He pulled on the loose pants and the simple shirt Ameiko had provided and paused a moment to gather his thoughts. His mental preparations for once again being in an inn and talking to people, as well as for those people to stare at his face, were interrupted by the clang of Ameiko dropping something metallic and a colourful word shortly after. He reprimanded himself for being such a poor mannered sod. If she wouldn’t accept money for her services the least he could do would be to help out. He opened the pantry door on Ameiko retrieving a ladle from under a bench. “You need a hand?” he asked, placing the folded blanket on an empty shelf and moving to do so before hearing the answer.   
“You know what Tel? That sounds great,” she said in a tired voice, “if you can get the fire started I’ll put on a pot of porridge to stretch some bacon and eggs to feed the masses upstairs.”  
“Sounds good,” he replied and began to stack the wood she pointed out to him into the cooking fire’s pit.   
“You’ll want to put some kindling down before you drop in too much of the bigger stuff,” she said as looked over her shoulder from slicing bacon to see how he was doing.   
“I don’t know, I’m pretty sure Hearth can get his head through that door,” Tel said with a grin.  
“You’re not serious?”  
“Why wouldn’t I be?”  
“Well, I don’t know, I haven’t had many dragons stay at the inn before.”  
“He lights the fire every time we make camp and he’s my smelting flame, trust me, he won’t burn the place down.”   
“It’s not that, I just didn’t realise he was so… Helpful.”   
“Hearth’s never shied away from doing his bit, that’s for sure. I like to believe that he really feels part of our team, but sometimes I suspect he just likes showing off.”  
There was a bump on the back door that sent the timbers creaking and Tel moved quickly over to open it. Hearth warbled happily on seeing Tel and nuzzled him affectionately then poked his head into the kitchen up to his shoulders before looking around at everything with great interest; pausing occasionally to sniff at some utensil or spice or anything else that caught his attention.   
“Could you light this for me my friend?” Tel asked and motioned to the wood stacked in the cooking pit. Hearth tore his attention away from a knife block and turned to examine the request. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary in the task Hearth summoned his fire and blew a gentle jet of flame onto the stacked logs. The heat of the dragon’s fire quickly filled the room and the logs, being subjected to its full force, quickly caught alight. Hearth immediately went back to his exploration of the interesting items and smells in the kitchen and Tel patted his craned neck in thanks.   
“That’s incredible,” Ameiko said, “I’ve never seen dragon fire before.”  
“It’s impressive to see, I won’t argue there,” Tel replied, “but that display doesn’t really do him justice. I’ve seen him project a veritable torrent of that stuff a full 100 feet.”  
“He’s an amazing creature to be sure. You’ll have to expand on your tale of how the pair of you came to be in each other’s company one of these days.”  
“What’s your interest in us?” Tel asked, suddenly suspicious of her motives. He was well aware that she’d gotten out of him far more than he’d intended to tell already and wasn’t sure yet why.   
“Collecting interesting stories is something of a hobby of mine,” she said evenly, refusing to reciprocate Tel’s tone, “and yours has the makings of a good one. Besides, you might decide to stay and you can’t be the mysterious stranger in town forever.”   
Tel slowly forced himself to relax. He had to keep reminding himself that, so far, these people had been nothing but kind to the pair of them and that people in general were normally friendly to those who’d helped save their lives. The debt of gratitude incurred by lending a hand in a fight went doubly so in towns like this he knew where they were a long way from the patrols of the more heavily settled lands to the south. Frontier life could be, and often was, brutal and a strong sense of community was a necessity.   
“I’m really not sure how much longer we’ll be staying,” Tel said in an attempt to dissuade that line of thinking; though he was unsure whether he was trying to dissuade Ameiko or himself.   
“Well he,” she said pointing to Hearth who had just quit his investigation and had gone back to sleep up to his shoulders in the kitchen, “seems to be settling in here just splendidly and, if you remember, you gave me your word that when you finally come to see we’re not out to get you you’d tell me that story.”   
Disarmed by her words he couldn’t help lightening up a little and even attempting a smile, “I did, didn’t I?”  
“You most certainly did. You also offered to help with breakfast and now that you’ve gotten the fire going you can finish slicing the bacon while I make porridge.”  
They both got back to work and the task at hand, in their fatigued state, took far more effort than it should have and stifled any further conversation. Seeming to sense that breakfast was nearly ready Uka emerged from Ameiko’s room a little while later looking marginally rested and no less dishevelled than the rest of them. Her pink hat was gone and replaced with her usual one of dark grey that might once have been deep blue. She wished them both a good morning, which they both half-heartedly returned, before sitting by the fire to stir the porridge while Ameiko readied the eggs. A short time later the trio had prepared breakfast for the forty people staying upstairs who were just now starting to filter down into the inns common room, summoned by the smells of the kitchen. Ameiko took the heaped plates of eggs and bacon out to the masses and when she returned for the cauldron of porridge she noticed the apprehensive look on the others faces. “What’s the matter with you two?” she asked jovially, “afraid of eating with the others? You’ll charge fearlessly into a fight but won’t take a meal with those you saved?”  
“I have a reputation to maintain,” Uka replied flatly, “if I allow them to see me as one of their own I shall be bothered non-stop for the rest of my years by the most trivial of complaints.”  
“Just suggest it’d taste better seasoned with blood of virgin or something like that. That’ll creep them out plenty enough to stop them bothering you.”  
“I find that virgins very rarely come knocking at my door actually.”  
“Fine then, blood of…” Ameiko drew a blank as the sleeplessness finally caught up with her wit, “whatever it is you choose to season your food with. Come on Uka, you’ve lived out there for ages and I know being a witch meant you felt you didn’t always fit in. But now here’s an opportunity to give these people a chance. Please, for me.”   
“Ok then, but as a personal favour to you,” Uka said, “and I shall be requiring a bowl of milk for Ula.”   
With a smile Ameiko pointed out the can of fresh milk left just inside the door and handed Uka a shallow dish. Having filled the dish and ensuring that it was to Ula’s satisfaction the witch disappeared out into the common room. A wave of disappointment washed over the innkeeper as the general hubbub of the crowd, which had built steadily as her guests had filed downstairs, dropped to silence as Uka entered the room. Feeling obligated to intervene despite the lethargy gnawing at her she grabbed the porridge and headed for the door. As she did so she said, “you coming Tel? I know you’re hungry.”  
“I thought I could-,” was all he got out before Ameiko cut him off.   
“Don’t fucking start that Tel, Hearth’s given us all a chance now so can you.” Her tone was final as exertion and exhaustion finally ended her patience with the obstinate young man. For a sickening moment she thought she might have just broken the rapport she’d been so carefully cultivating but Tel only sighed and nodded. He gave Hearth a pat and received a drowsy warble of the dragon’s blessing before following her out.   
The common room of the Rusty Dragon was quiet as Ameiko and Tel entered and she genuinely worried that Uka was receiving a far chillier reception than she deserved. Her faith in the people of Sandpoint was restored not a heartbeat later when the room suddenly erupted into cheers and applause directed at the surprised witch. The accolades were soon expanded to encompass Tel and herself as the crowd noticed their presence as well. A smile cracked the mask of fatigue currently on her face as she saw both Tel and Uka utterly stunned at this turn of events. She watched their faces carefully as the initial shock passed and was strangely pleased to see Uka’s usual look of stern disapproval return, although the corners of her mouth betrayed an inward smile. Tel’s face slowly shifted from a stunned blank to an expression of wide-eyed horror. He paused for a moment and stole a look back through the kitchen door to where Hearth slumbered for reassurance before making an attempt to compose himself with a deep breath.   
“Come on then you two, don’t just stand there,” Ameiko said by way of encouragement to the anti-social duo. She seated the pair at the end of a table before abandoning them to the crowd to dole out the porridge. As she made her rounds she kept a close eye on the reluctant heroes of the hour as the townsfolk’s attempts at thanks and hospitality were met with much less gusto than they were made. When finally she came back to them she fended off the hordes with her porridge ladle and a, “give them a chance to eat you pack of wolves.” Slowly people returned to their seats, but not until ensuring that they had thanked all three of them personally. That strong community spirit and sense of fairness was one of the things she liked most about Sandpoint Ameiko decided. These people saw themselves as indebted to Tel and Uka and they intended to make good on it. Dropping the now empty cauldron on the table Ameiko took a seat next to Uka and ate some breakfast herself. The food brought a welcome respite to her rumbling stomach and she quietly thanked the gods for delivering these two idiots to Sandpoint in its hour of need.  
Tel ate as quickly as he felt he could while maintaining some semblance of what he remembered table manners to be. Growing up a jewel merchant’s son he had been schooled extensively on etiquette but he realised that in the last 6 years those skills had grown decidedly rusty. To complicate matters what little he remembered was fighting a losing battle against his stomachs demands to simply shovel in food as fast as he could. Hunger dulled the worst of his social anxieties however and although he wasn’t yet ready to openly admit it, these people were quite unlike what he’d thought they’d be. Hearth’s judgement was just as sharp as ever it seemed and Ameiko had been correct in her prediction of his reception as well. He looked around at the faces in the room, so very at odds with all the faces he’d been around in his life up until now. They were nothing like the avaricious visages of the Chelaxian merchant class where each was carefully trying to exploit his peers to raise himself to the nobility. They were also nothing like the grim faces of the pit fighters. Instead these people smiled broadly and laughed deeply, they wore their hearts on their sleeves it seemed to Tel and they valued nothing as highly as good food and good company. Many of the groups he spied in his scan of the room were families, often three generations worth, some large and others small but all with a contented look to them. People on the frontier had a very different set of struggles and priorities Tel thought. His musings were cut short when suddenly he realised that his bowl was empty. He just blankly stared at it for what seemed like an eternity and Tel’s tired mind wondered if he might conjure some more food by imagining it to be there.   
His musings were shattered when suddenly a meaty hand grabbed him on the shoulder. “Here y’go friend, m’wife certainly doesn’t need it,” came a low, conspiratorial tone by his ear as a thick rash of bacon was dropped into his bowl. As suddenly as they came the hand and voice were gone and Tel had to slowly loosen the subconscious grip on his belt, panicked fingers reaching for a blade that wasn’t there. He gathered his thoughts as quickly as he could and muttered thanks before taking a breath to quiet his pounding heart and relax his fingers. Before he could calm down enough to eat the gifted bacon he heard Uka’s stern tone, “you need to relax Tel, being so on edge will stress you into an early grave.”   
“I find being ready to defend yourself usually prolongs your life,” Tel replied coolly as he ate his bacon.  
“When in an unsafe environment I could not agree more. This, however, is an inn in a friendly town. If you don’t learn to feel safe in a safe place you’re just as much a fool as someone who lacks vigilance in an unsafe one.”  
“That’s easy to say for someone whose weapon is their ever present magic.”  
“And just as easy to say for someone who travels with a dragon. Now, speaking of travelling, you’ll need to stay in town at least until I can be sure those wounds have healed well. I shall be back later to change the bandages.”  
“I’ve survived worse without help.”  
“You’re talking about the scar on your chest? I wondered how you got that, do tell.”  
“I’d rather not.”  
“Fine then, keep your secrets. But I’ll wager that when you say without help you actually mean with the help of the dragon licking the wound.”  
Tel’s slight wince was all the confirmation Uka needed. “I thought as much. Though I wonder how long it took you to recover from that injury. You are tough, Tel, I’ll give you that. But I will not have your stubborn nature getting you killed. Besides, your dragon is badly malnourished and needs to be fed well for a week at least.”  
Another wince from Tel and the defiance draining from his face was all that Uka needed to know that her angle had worked. The stubborn young fool would happily risk his life on his injuries but was far less ready to see the dragon suffer. She filed that fact away under ‘useful leverage’ and stood up from the table. “If there are no objections I shall see you both back here this afternoon to change those bandages,” Uka said as she gathered her spoon and bowl. Glancing between Ameiko and Tel to ensure there were no objections she gave a stiff nod of approval before returning her dishes to the kitchen and heading towards the front door. “If you should have need of me I shall be at home taking a bath, from there I shall be returning to the cathedral to aid Zantus in his triage efforts,” she said as she stepped out onto the street, her mind eagerly anticipating an opportunity to clean up.

Tel watched the door close behind Uka, gathered his own spoon and bowl and made ready to coax his tender leg into standing. “She does care,” said Ameiko, interrupting Tel’s gathering of mental fortitude.  
“Uka?”  
“I know she can be a bit gruff at times but she’s got a heart of gold.”  
“I’ve made it this far just fine without her meddling,” Tel replied a little waspishly.  
“Evidently,” Ameiko said with a smile, gesturing to where he sat. “However she takes a personal interest in ensuring that people like you make it a good deal farther.”  
“People like me?” Tels words took on a hard edge.  
Ameiko had to fight down the fatigue cutting short her patience in order to keep a hard edge from her own words. “Yes, Tel. People like you. People without a home, without support.”  
“I don’t need charity.”  
“But everyone needs help from time to time and there’s no shame in asking. Besides, surely it’s better to ask for help than to turn up on someone’s back door starving and trying to steal food.”  
Ameiko’s statement had the desired effect and seemed to knock a bit of the wind out of Tel’s sails which were rapidly filling with a headstrong gale. Seeing Uka’s earlier success with working Hearth as an angle she decided to try it for herself. “And anyway, Hearth still needs to clean up a couple of those poor horses out the back,” she said, trying to steer the conversation back to gentler waters.   
“At least let me pay for the stay in the stables,” was as close to an admission of defeat as Tel was willing to give.  
“And how long shall I be billing this stay for?” Ameiko asked.  
“The week. Then Hearth and I will be off.”  
Although she felt that Sandpoint owed the man and the dragon far more than a week of their hospitality Ameiko also felt that a week gave the town a chance to convince them to extend their stay.  
“How about 10 silver for the week, all meals included?”  
“I’ll go and get my coins,” said Tel as he pushed himself stiffly to his feet and waddled into the kitchen.  
Sometimes Ameiko wondered why she did it, trying to keep the lost souls of the world from self-destruction. Especially the ones like Tel, who seemed determined to reject help even when it was offered. In this case it was easy to justify as the man had helped defend the town but she also had to admit a selfish interest in his story and enjoyed the challenge posed by getting it out of him. But she had to admit to herself that a large part of it was that her conscience demanded no less. She looked down at her own empty bowl and allowed a look of satisfaction to cross her face. She’d secured a week within which to secure longer stay. What she really needed to secure, she noted somewhat sarcastically to herself as she looked at her tunics bloodied front, was a change of clothes. 

As Tel entered the kitchen he breathed an audible sigh of relief. Being under the scrutiny of so many people was stressful to the reclusive man and although he was slowly coming to see that the people of Sandpoint posed little enough of a threat to him it was still nerve-wracking. He placed his dishes by the tub and moved over to where Hearths sleeping body blocked the door to the rear courtyard. “Hearth, my friend, you’re in the way,” Tel said as he gently rubbed the dragons brow to wake him. Hearth blew an exasperated sigh and with exaggerated effort moved just enough for Tel to squeeze by. After a brief tummy tickling in retaliation which elicited little more than a half-hearted shooing with a wing Tel made his way over to his impromptu lodgings. His coin purse he found with the bloodied rags that were all that remained of his clothing and from it he pulled a single gold piece. He regarded the coin closely and felt a strange sense of satisfaction overcome him as he turned it over in his fingers. He had earned that coin, by plying his trade, and here he was about to honestly expend it. Money had been such a far-away thing for the last 6 years. He’d been fed and housed as beast master in the pits but never paid and while on the run he’d simply stolen what he needed. He smiled at the thought of re-joining civilized society though he had to admit he didn’t think he could ever go back to it fully. He looked up to where Hearth was soaking up the morning sun and reaffirmed to himself that despite the trials of the their life on the run it had been the highlight of his life. Freedom was an intoxicating thing and only made more so by the presence of a true friend with which to share it. Sure you had to pay for it in the occasional missed meal. 

At that his thoughts violently upended themselves and he remembered Hearth eating carrion and Uka’s assessment of Hearth’s malnourishment. He realised that he really didn’t know what the right thing to do was in this situation. One the one hand staying put for too long exposed them to the ever present risk of pursuit by their old owners. But by the same token it was much easier for a man to live off the land undetected than it was for a dragon. He didn’t let his selfish love of freedom enter into the equation. He would not weigh himself against the value of Hearths wellbeing. He looked back at the coin in his hand. They would stay the week he decided, assuming Hearth made no move to leave before then, and then decide what to do from there. A sharp stab of pain from his injured leg made clear its vote to stay as well. Feeling that the benefits outweighed the risks he began the painful hobble back to Ameiko to confirm the plan to stay for the week. 

When he made it passed Hearth and back into the kitchen he found Ameiko already there stacking dishes next to the washing tub. A pair of middle aged women already worked at the tub, one washing one drying, with their backs to Tel. They were holding a lively discussion about the raid and the presence of a ‘dragon at the Rusty Dragon’ and seemed not to notice his presence at all. He moved as quietly as he could over to Ameiko, hoping not to draw the attention of the two strangers.   
“Ameiko, I hope you’ll take gold for my stay,” was all the greeting Tel managed before holding the coin out.  
“You know Tel, a few words to pad the hard facts aren’t likely to go astray.”  
“My skills at conversation are a little rusty.”  
“You don’t say. And of course I’ll take gold for your stay, though I’ll be honest with you and say I’d rather take nothing at all.”  
“I don’t like charity.”  
“And yet, last night, Sandpoint greatly benefited from yours. Besides Tel, it’s better to be invited before you sneak into kitchens to steal a feed, don’t you think?”  
Tel, lacking a rebuttal to the hole poked in his argument and smarting from being pointed out as a thief, just went slightly red.  
“Well, I’ll take that as an acceptance of my point,” she said with a smile. “Your face is remarkably expressive when it isn’t hidden behind that scarf.”  
Completely unsure of how to respond to this and becoming increasing aware of the long pause in the conversation he was causing Tel tried to change the subject. “Do you have anyone in town who can work leather?” He inquired at length.  
“We certainly do, though I imagine they’ll be a little busy at the moment, given the attack and all. Though I’m sure they could make up whatever you need if you give them the time. For the moment at least I’m going for a change of clothes and a nap.”  
This seemed to draw the attention of the two ladies washing the breakfast dishes and one of them injected, “talking of changing clothes and napping with strange men, think of the stories that might get told Ameiko!” Both women laughed at this poor attempt at a joke and Tel regarded their bobbing shoulders quizzically. Before Tel could give Ameiko a puzzled look she retorted, “none so raunchy or as true as the ones I could tell about either of you if half the wagging tongues in this place can be believed.”   
“True, but we haven’t turned down every man in town now have we? That makes the gossip all the juicier.”  
“Before you were married did either of you ever turn down one?”  
At this the women both looked at each other, said “no” in unison and burst out laughing. Once their mirth had subsided they both turned to regard Tel and Ameiko, the former wearing a bewildered expression and the latter a smile.   
“Don’t worry young man, our lips are sealed,” one said with what Tel assumed was supposed to be a reassuring wink. “Can’t have the man of the hour assailed by a horde of jealous suitors now can we?” At this the two women had another laugh before turning their attention back to the dishes, much to Tel’s relief. He was severely out of practice socially and felt that he’d had all he could handle for the time being. Too many new faces and too many words made him nervous.  
Ameiko turned back to Tel and spoke quietly to evade the notice of the still chortling women, “I’m going to get some rest. I suggest you and that leg do the same.”  
Tel gave a nod. “Rest well,” he ventured by way of an appropriate response. Ameiko just chuckled and disappeared into her room. Tel made his way back outside and after telling Hearth he could eat the other dead horses laid down in his haystack and dozed off to the carnage of Hearth devouring his breakfast. He was briefly woken when Hearth tried to squeeze into their stall around him and after a few seconds adopting their usual sleeping positions the pair were claimed by the embrace of sleep. 

######

Tel awoke with a start to Hearth’s gentle nosing and the nightmare gave way to the reassuring sight of dark scales. Tel feared the horrors of the pits would dog his heels for the rest of his life. It was a small price to pay he thought to himself as he looked into those massive eyes. He gave Hearths cheek a gentle stroke to let the dragon know he was alright and sat up. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and the cold sweat from his forehead while he mentally prepared himself to get to his feet. No sooner than he had staggered into the courtyard and into the early afternoon sun Ameiko opened the back door of the inn. “You ok Tel? People heard you crying out in your sleep,” she said as she closed the door behind her.  
“I’m fine, thank you.”  
“Was it a nightmare?”  
“I’d rather not talk about it if it’s all the same to you.”  
Deciding not to push the issue Ameiko tried for an easier line of conversation. She hoped that by continuing to build rapport with the easy topics she might be able to get to the bottom of the interesting story she felt Tel was sitting on and she felt she was making progress.   
“Hearth certainly puts away food doesn’t he? You’d never have known there were seven dead horses back here last night.” Hearth gave a soft warble and moved out of their stall to stand behind Tel, nudging him gently to soothe the guilt that clouded his features. Realising that her easier line of conversation hadn’t had the desired effect she thought she’d try to build on her success last night with Hearth himself.   
“Can he understand us?” She asked as she looked up at the dragon.  
“I think he picks up the gist of things,” Tel replied.  
“Can I give him another pat do you think?”  
“I can’t see why not.”  
Ameiko took a step toward Hearth and true to Tel’s assessment Hearth took a step forward of his own and brought his great head down to within easy each. Tel watched Ameiko pat his friend with a look of awe on her face. He supposed it was only natural that Hearth should illicit such a reaction and he imagined his face must have looked much the same the first time the two of them crossed paths. Over their travels however Hearth had become the norm to him and represented about the only constant in his life. In fact Tel thought that in his case the creature beside him with only two legs was the stranger to him. Seeing his friend still at ease with her had begun to lower the usual walls of suspicion Tel built between him and every person he’d met. Those walls had been lowered by drink last night too Tel reminded himself with a flash of embarrassment but he had to admit that his thoughts then were currently mirrored. She was beautiful and his searching eyes soon landed on the tattoo on her toned arm revealed by the sleeveless tunic she now wore. Again he was captivated by the way it moved and flowed with the muscles beneath it.   
“Tel.”  
His eyes then found the mole by her mouth and played over the rest of her features. More than just a beautiful face she had a kind face and Tel was well aware that her heart was of the same cloth.   
“Tel?”  
His roaming eyes settled on her fringe, its grey in stark contrast to the black of the rest of her hair.  
“Tel!”  
He blinked out of his reverent appreciation of Ameiko to see her looking at him with a smirk on her face. Determined not to lose his cool he quickly responded, “Yes?”  
“I was just going to say that I think he likes me but you seemed to have zoned out there.”  
“Oh… Yeah. Sorry about that.” Tel was unsure whether she didn’t notice his stare or if she was just ignoring it. He sincerely hoped it was the former.  
“Something on your mind?”  
“No, not really, it’s just that…” He trailed off.  
“Just that?” She prompted.  
Tel wanted to say that it was just that she was beautiful and that he valued her kindness towards him and Hearth. But his more rational mind managed to intercept the wayward thought before it made it to his mouth. Where did that come from he wondered as he tried to put together something more reasonable, but in the end all he could come up with was, “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”   
He remembered the conversation the two women doing dishes had jokingly held with Ameiko about the long list of rejected suitors. It was easy to see why they’d tried their luck he decided but it also made him wonder why all of them had been rejected. His rational mind used the repeated rejections to build its case against any other thoughts down the line that had left him staring at the woman. After all he surely had less to offer than those other suitors which made this avenue a dead end.   
Before Tel could change the topic or Ameiko could press for more the towns Sherriff came walking out of the kitchen door holding Tel’s pack and his sword.

“Hi Ameiko, hi Tel, we found these during the clean up earlier today and I thought I’d come past and return them,” the sheriff said while eyeing Hearth’s interactions with Ameiko suspiciously. “He’s err…” the sheriff searched for the words he felt would cause the least offence to the strange man, “quite safe to be around then?”  
“Of course he is,” Tel said, the irritation clear in his voice, “he’s not a dumb beast.”  
The sheriff looked to Ameiko for a lead but her face was simply telling him he was an idiot and to make his own way out of the hole. To the surprise of all present it was Hearth who broke the silence before it could become awkward with a rolling warble as he advanced, is as nonthreatening a manner as possible, on the sheriff. Carefully stepping over Ameiko he brought his head down to sniff at the pack and the blade the sheriff held. Seeming to identify it as belong to them Hearth turned back to Tel and gave a rising warble. Looking back at the dragon’s bright expression Tel smiled and gave a soft snort. “He gives you our thanks sheriff,” Tel said by way of translation.  
“Oh, well, you’re both welcome,” said the sheriff uncertainly, put off as he was by Hearths intimidating presence. But then he gathered his stride and continued, “It was the least we could do after you saved so many of us. Obviously we wouldn’t think of keeping you if you’ve business elsewhere but if you’re planning on staying that’d make me feel an awful lot safer, knowing we have such a formidable force on our side.”   
Tel moved stiffly forward to retrieve his things while the sheriff talked and shook his hand when he did so. “We’ll be staying here for the week, while my injuries heal and we plan on leaving after that,” Tel said then he moved off to place his pack in his hay shed and return his blade to his belt. 

With Tel occupied the sheriff turned his gaze back to Hearth. “He’s the talk of the town you know, the dragon,” the sheriff said to Ameiko, “though they’re all too scared to come and have a look at him. A few of the boys were telling how he came at us with a mouth full of fire last night and others have been telling stories of the beast saving their lives. Though it doesn’t surprise me that you’re standing right next to the thing Ameiko, I know you love a good story and all but you need to be careful.”  
“I’m quite capable of handling myself thanks sir knight, and besides, Hearth is lovely.”   
“Yeah, when his handler is within sight. You should have seen it last night, all fire and fury. A far cry from the singing lizard act it’s putting on now.”  
Suddenly, with no warning at all Hearth threw his wings open with a powerful snap. The colour drained from the sheriff’s face in an instant and Ameiko reflexively ducked. She quickly turned to the source of the noise and movement as Hearth slowly closed his wings. He issued a series of low croaks and shook his head playfully at the sheriff who was still rooted to the spot. Seeing the act for what it was, a joke from Hearth at the sheriff’s expense, Ameiko burst out laughing. “HAH! He got you there!” she blurted, “that’s what you get for talking about him in front of him!”  
“It… It can understand us, can’t it?”  
“It is Hearth, and yes he can,” said Tel as he moved back over to the three of them. Hearth gave another series of croaks and looked at the sheriff as the colour slowly returned to his face. Ameiko slapped the dragon’s leg and he gave another series of croaks to complement her residual giggles.  
“If you’re all quite done with the joke,” said the sheriff huffily.  
“Oh lighten up.”  
“Ameiko I’m the sheriff it’s my job to be cautious,” turning to Tel he continued, “I apologise for any offence given, I still hope you’ll stay. I just wasn’t sure how… Safe Hearth was for people besides yourself.”  
“He makes up his own mind. He’s a friend, not a pet. He usually gives fair warning if he intends harm.”  
“Usually?”  
“Like I said, he makes up his own mind.”  
“Well, thank you for your service to Sandpoint and we hope you’ll aid in its defence again if you’re still here when help is needed,” said the sheriff by way of goodbye.   
“Bye sheriff,” Ameiko called after him. 

Tel just watched him leave. His mind was still grappling with all the interaction that had gone on in the last 24 hours. He had done more talking since this time yesterday than he had in what felt like forever. He had to admit that while he found it stressful it wasn’t entirely unwelcome and it stirred this dim memory he had of himself as not always so withdrawn. He couldn’t ever remember a time where he was a socialite but before his induction into the life of a pit fighter he used to enjoy the company of friends. After everything that had happened to him he seriously wondered if he could ever go back to that sort of existence. Sandpoint seemed to offer a very real chance to do so with its welcoming people and frontier location. He could settle down here, make some friends, put down roots and probably open a jeweller to keep him in coin. But a part of him knew this to be a lie. The truth of the matter was that he had lost something, many things, during his time in the pits and it was only now, being in contact with all these good, normal people, that it started to become apparent. His sympathy had been terribly eroded, his trust completely destroyed and his willingness to accept charity gone. He never wanted to owe anyone anything again. His ability to truly attach to something was gone, the last of it used on Hearth, as he’d seen far too many people that he’d tried to attach to die screaming on the arena sands. As beast master he’d take their bodies and feed them to his charges, having to butcher them into portions before throwing them into the cages. They left the gages with even less dignity, shat out and scooped into a bucket to be thrown into a pit. Seeing that happen time and time again to the new faces coming in through the door prevented him from ever getting to know them. No he thought, Hearth was the only attachment he had left, and if anything happened to the dragon he knew he’d follow soon after, in soul if not in body. Thinking back to the parade of smiling families he’d seen in the inn that morning reminded him of another lie in the fantasy of a quiet life. He could never marry, for what woman would ever marry a man she could only ever come second to. Hearth would forever hold the primary place in his life he knew, the two of them had shared a set of experiences that few could imagine let alone survive. In many ways, Tel thought, he didn’t survive them either. The old Tel was dead, he’d died somewhere in that blood soaked hell, and the person who’d walked out of there was almost undeserving of the title. 

Thinking on it now, this whole attempt at contacting people was Hearth’s doing. Those huge eyes saw a lot more than they collected credit for and the mind behind them was in the same boat. Tel looked over to Hearth where he stood by Ameiko and he saw a concerned look on his face. The dragon cooed sadly then lowered his head to level his gaze with Tel’s and gave a small whine. Hearth gently nudged his companion and did not pull away. Tel just stood there fighting back tears before giving up and just hugging the head as tightly as he could. “Hearth, I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he sobbed, his tears running down the black scales. A soothing rumble came as Hearth’s reply and the pair just stood there, locked in their hug for a good long while. Here, if nowhere else in creation, Tel felt at home. With all the other things that had come and gone in his life, good and bad, Hearth was the one thing in recent memory which had turned out to be a permanent fixture. Everything, absolutely everything, but Hearth he had lost one way or another. He allowed himself this respite and just held his embrace of dear Hearth’s head. He could feel the dragon’s breath on his knees and feel the deep pulse of his heart and it soothed his aching mind like nothing else could. At length Tel pulled away and said, “Thanks for taking care of me my friend; your judgement is sound as ever.” Hearth blew a self-depreciating snort over Tel, the sudden rush disturbing his hair. Tel smiled and wiped his eyes then noticed Ameiko standing quietly to one side. He looked at her and couldn’t quite muster the emotional energy to feel ashamed, he just felt blank. 

Ameiko watched the scene unfold with a mixture of curiosity and sympathy. She had looked over at Tel as soon as the sheriff had left and had initially intended to give him a playful rib over his rude lack of a goodbye. But she’d seen the cogs turning in the young man’s head and thought better of it. Almost at the same time she’d made the decision not to bring up his manners Hearth seemed to sense that something was wrong with Tel and she’d watched the poor man break down seemingly out of the blue. The dragon’s tender show of support spoke to her of a being that was capable of very real devotion to those it loved and, she reminded herself, from what the sheriff had said of the events of the previous evening, incredible brutality to those it didn’t. Part of her had wanted to hug the man, give him a reassuring pat on the back and tell him it was all going to be ok. Something she, as an innkeeper, had done many times over the years to soothe the sadness of her patrons. But in this instance she felt that whatever those two had been through was such that only they could offer each other real support against the demons that hounded them. Looking at them now, and more precisely the way they looked at each other, she wasn’t overly sure that telling them it would all be ok would be telling them the truth. Tel’s gaze certainly gave the impression of wounds that would likely never heal. She gave him a weak smile and turned from his blank expression to walk back to the inn.

Tel looked back to Hearth, who gave another supportive coo, and then watched Ameiko close the inn’s door behind her. He didn’t know how he felt about her having seen that. He doubted she’d spread it around and confident of the fact that she was the only one who would know he found he didn’t care as much as he might have otherwise. His head a confused jumble of emotions he turned to his towering friend, “You keen to stretch those wings?” Hearth responded with a nod and lowered his head for Tel to climb aboard. The wounds on Tel’s leg hampered the usual grace with which they performed the manoeuvre but after a brief scrabble they were both in the right place. Tel sat taller when he was astride Hearth as he drew strength from the power and the freedom that almost radiated from those black scales. Tel wiggled his bum one last time and gave Hearth a gentle pat on the head to signal his readiness. With his passenger comfortable Hearth made his way out of the back of the stables, down the small lane and onto the small plaza near the docks of Sandpoint. People pointed and gasped, others screamed and some even cheered but Hearth paid them no mind and in two powerful bounds and a downstroke of his wings he was airborne and flying out over the waters of the harbour. He flapped his wings to gain altitude and then banked right to take them out over the waters of the Varisian gulf. Tel inhaled deeply of the air rushing past his face, it felt cool as he drew it into his lungs and helped to clear his head. For all the things he’d lost he had gained a supreme love and appreciation of freedom and his spirit soared even higher than his body as the endless blue of the ocean stretched out before him, dotted occasionally by clouds. Hearth made a wide turn to bring them back in over the coast and Tel looked down to the town. He could see all the people in the streets waving to him but he couldn’t muster the energy to wave back. Instead he and Hearth just settled into a relaxed flight and let the air beating at their bodies massage away at their knotted emotions. They soon left the town behind them and flew over the woods towards the clearing they’d called home only two days ago. “You know Hearth, a lot has changed since yesterday morning; an awful lot actually. I just wanted to say thank you. I know I can be a stubborn asshole at times and I just wanted to thank you for putting up with me.” Hearth warbled a response and Tel felt the rolling sound just as much as he heard it. “I know that you wanted to stay in that town on my account Hearth,” Tel said, his voice low. A questioning coo came back at him though the wind. “Yeah, I don’t think towns are really our thing anymore. Though I will say that as far as towns we’ve been to go, that one wasn’t so bad. They didn’t try to kill either of us.” It was a weak joke, but Hearth showed his appreciation for it in his customary string of croaks. “Hearth, you know, I don’t… I don’t want you to worry about me too much. I’ll be ok, you know?” Tel got a plaintive whine in response. “You’ve done so much for me already and, well, you make one real demand in the whole time we’ve been together and it turns out it’s for me.” This only got a dismissive huff. “I feel selfish Hearth. I feel like a terrible friend. I ask you not to eat properly for weeks on end and then…” Tel trailed off. Hearth gave a deep burp and pumped his legs in the air before issuing a satisfied rumble. “You’re feeling fat and full now, so all is forgiven?” There was an emphatic nod. “Well, just so long as you’re happy. I worry about that you know, I worry that you don’t… I don’t know, get whatever it is that keeps you going, you know? I’d hate for you to ever feel like you’re not an equal, or for you to resent your wants never getting considered.” Suddenly Tel felt heat radiating from Hearth and the dragon blew a massive stream of fire into the air. Tel quickly tightened his grip on the horns and as he sensed muscles bunch beneath him he prepared to roll with Hearth. The roll was abrupt when it came a split second later, throwing them up, to the left and leaving them at right angles to the ground. Haven taken them out of the path of the smoke and lingering flame Hearth just let himself slip sideways down towards the ground and Tel watched the little droplets of dragonfire burn through the air like a falling cloud of sparks, each leaving its own little smoke trail. They continued to pick up speed as they plummeted before Hearth reversed the roll and opened his wings to arrest their momentum. As they slowed down and levelled off just above the tree tops Hearth have a satisfied snort and then his croaking laugh. The adrenalin flowing through his veins and his spirit soaring with the exhilaration Tel couldn’t help but let out a laugh of his own. “You always know how to snap me out of it and cheer me up, don’t you my friend?” A warm warble and a soft coo issued from the dragon accompanied by the awkward set of head movements that Tel knew meant Hearth was trying to look at him. The pain in his leg dulled by the adrenaline he pushed himself forward, between Hearths horns and onto his face. “What did you want my friend?” Tel asked then craned his face over Hearth’s brow to look into those giant eyes. Tel just stared into that bottomless pit of a pupil and wondered what thoughts were going on behind it. It occurred to him that Hearth was likely doing the same thing to him and each just took that moment to ponder the mind of the other. Tel smiled in spite of his earlier malaise at the knowledge that although he would never be able to read that mind, he could almost feel it. A contented coo broke the monotony of the wind in his ears and he stroked Hearth’s jaw affectionately. “You just wanted a pat?” Hearth shook his head gently so as not to shake loose its occupant. “You wanted to see me?” There was a nod and a shake. Tel pondered this for a moment trying to piece together the responses he’d gotten. I was something related to him he thought, and then it struck him. “You wanted to see me smile. That was it, wasn’t it? What you wanted the whole time?” Another contented coo rolled from Hearth’s throat and tears began to well within Tel’s eyes. He hugged Hearth’s warm face as tightly as he could and just silently cried onto the smooth scales. Hearth just kept flying smooth and level and let his friend cry it out.

It was nearly an hour later that Tel pushed himself back into his usual spot astride Hearth’s neck and wiped his stinging eyes on his sleeve. “You know Hearth, I think about this a lot, but I’m not sure I’ve ever actually told you… All that stuff we went through, all we lost, all that we did. I’d do it all again to have you in my life; you’d be a bargain at twice the price.” Hearth gave a deep and long rumble of agreement and barrel rolled through the sky. “I take it the feeling is mutual then.” Tel didn’t so much ask as stated the fact and it was received with a nod and a warble. “Well my friend, I think we’d better head back. Uka said she’d be at the inn to change my bandages in the afternoon and I don’t fancy spending the rest of my days as a frog.” Croak –croak -croak. “I’d drag you down with me you know. I’d tell her it was entirely your fault.” Snort. “No, really, I would.” Defeated Huff…Whine. “Yeah, frog-dom does sound pretty shit, doesn’t it?” Warble. “Alright then, let us make haste back to town.” Fitting actions to words Hearth took off at top speed forcing Tel to hunker down against the wind as powerful wings drove them, stroke by enormous stroke, back towards Sandpoint. The town came quickly into view as their stupendous velocity quickly ate up the distance and Hearth slowed down and circled to find a place to land. 

They touched down in the same area where they took off and drew quite a crowd as they did so. Tel was uncomfortable with so many eyes on him and Hearth seemed to know this as he wasted no time at all trotting off down the lane behind the Rusty Dragon and into its stable’s courtyard. As Tel moved to dismount he found that activity had finally caught up to his leg and he stiffly made the attempt before failing onto his ass. Hearth immediately offered a horn and once he was sure Tel had a firm hold he hoisted the man back onto his feet. “Thanks Hearth,” was all he managed to say before the inn’s door flew open and Ameiko stepped out with the sheriff in tow. “Did you enjoy your flight?” Ameiko inquired by way of greeting.   
“I did, thank you. Though it seems news travels quickly around here, Hearth and I only just landed.”  
“Well, you’re not very stealthy when you do. Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed your flight and I’ve got the sheriff here with news.”  
“Good evening Tel, I was hoping you’d accompany me to the town hall,” the sheriff said as he looked warily at Hearth.   
“No, I’m happy here for the evening,” Tel replied flatly. He didn’t trust a man who didn’t trust Hearth and had to admit to himself that a part of his answer was childish spite. He resented authority figures out of principal and the confident sheriff was an easy target for his prejudice.  
The sheriff looked to Ameiko for aid but again her face told him to find his own way as she would not risk her rapport with Tel by seeming to gang up on him. Again and with barely supressed resentment of his own the sheriff composed himself before trying again.  
“The mayor would like to talk to you about the recent goblin raid and offer her thanks.”  
“What’s there to discuss about the goblins? They’re gone now. And as for the thanks, you conveyed them just fine sheriff.”  
Growing quietly infuriated with Tel the sheriff kept a lid on his anger and forced himself to do the thing he’d feared would be required, “please Tel. The mayor would like to convey her gratitude personally and offer you amnesty within the town.”  
“Amnesty? You mean she wants me, or more specifically Hearth, to stay and act as her goblin deterrent?”  
Tel’s tone immediately iced over the conversation and he and the sheriff exchanged a hard look. Before either could add fuel to the growing tension Ameiko broke the silence. “What is with you two?” She asked jokingly. “Might kill someone with looks like that.” Confident that the sheriff was used to her irreverent manner and he wouldn’t take offence she turned her attention to Tel’s reaction. What surprised her was the lack thereof, like the stubborn fool he was Tel was still glaring at the other man. The sheriff on the other hand was snapped back to his usual professional demeanour by the joking reprimand and he reminded himself that he had dealt with harder personalities than Tel’s. Besides what kind of sheriff would he be if he got into a fight with someone who’d saved the lives of Sandpoint’s townsfolk? Softening his own expression in the face of Tel’s scowl wasn’t easy but was worth the effort when the change was reciprocated.   
“Please Tel, you helped us out a lot and the mayor only wants to offer her thanks and hear your thoughts on the goblins. Whether you want to help any further is entirely up to you. But if you decide to stay around, as I’m hoping you might, we’d really like to have you as one of the community.”   
Tel looked up to Hearth and after a momentary pause seemed to read from the dragon’s expression what he needed. “Ok, fine. We’ll come along.”  
“That’s excellent to hear. Can you leave immediately?”  
Tel gave a nod and moments later, after Tel was mounted on Hearth, the two men left the little courtyard and headed for the town hall. Ameiko cheered silently to herself. The sheriff had handled that admirably, at first she’d feared she’d have to step in and try to coax Tel into going. She felt driven to act by the fact that if he remained an outsider he’d likely pack up and leave as soon as he felt his wounds would allow but if he were included in the community he’d have one more reason to stay. She’d very much feared being seen to be taking the sheriffs side if she tried coaxing and had been frantically weighing the risks and rewards. As they disappeared from her view she was quietly confident that Tel was one step closer to the decision to say a little longer.

When they arrived at the town hall Tel found he was almost grateful to be ushered through the double doors and into the halls spacious interior. Although it was a bit of a squeeze Hearth followed him in and despite the look of alarm from the beleaguered sheriff no protests were forthcoming.   
“Better late than never Tel, have a seat and we can get this out of the way,” came Uka’s voice from where she was seated at a table on a small mezzanine. She sat with two other women Tel did not recognise and he fought down his usual social anxiety to attempt a smile to meet the interested gazes they aimed at him.   
“This is mayor Deverin,” Uka continued when all those present seemed lost in their appraisals of each other and motioned to a red headed woman sitting at the table. Tel looked at the person Uka referred to. She wore her red hair short and had a practical yet kindly face upon which she wore an expression of kind regard. She was dressed neatly and fashionably yet not extravagantly and she exuded an air of quiet authority and practicality.   
“And this is our local ranger, Shalelu,” Uka said of the other stranger as she completed the introductions. The first thing Tel noticed about her was her long blonde hair, it flowed around her like water; perfectly fluid and with not a strand out of place. On further inspection as she sat forward he noticed her slim build and her pointed ears. She was an elf. Although he had seen elves before both as a jewel merchant’s son and as a pit slave they were still rare and noteworthy outside their own lands or the most cosmopolitan of cities. He thought she was giving him a particularly scrutinizing look before he realised that her gaze was, in fact, resting upon Hearth. At this revelation he fought another battle with his paranoia as it brought up the fact that rangers are exactly the sort of people that he and Hearth had the most to fear from. Quickly stifling the urge to run before it could overwhelm him Tel’s more rational mind wondered if the elven woman might not be the ranger Ameiko was talking about when she offered to have her check in on his camp. It made sense he decided and he resolved to give her the benefit of the doubt based on her assumed friendship with Ameiko.  
“He’s beautiful,” Shalelu said somewhat out of the blue, her stare still locked onto the dragon who was returning her gaze evenly. Hearth gave a rolling coo in appreciation which brought a smile to the elf’s face. “He’s just like Ameiko described him, although I will admit I thought she was exaggerating when she told me,” she said to Tel who gave a bemused smile in return.   
“Has she told you much else about us?”  
“Only that you’ve been in the area for some time and that you had a dragon with you. I was keen to meet the two of you earlier but Ameiko told me you were out flying. How is it-”   
“Can we please discuss the thing we all came here to? I understand the dragon is more interesting but that is a conversation that can be had at a later time. I have people to check on, including you Tel, so let’s get this over with, shall we?” Uka displayed her usual no nonsense approach and under her stern gaze the two late arrivals took their places at the table while Shalelu silently continued to inspect Hearth.   
“Now then, as we’re all seated,” Mayor Deverin began in her clear, commanding tone, “let us begin. I’d like to open by expressing my gratitude to you both personally, Tel and Uka, for your efforts on behalf of Sandpoint.”  
Tel gave a small nod and Uka a, “I happened to be in the area.” Despite the less than sweeping response the mayor carried on. “As I’m sure you’re both aware Sandpoint is no stranger to goblin activity however in light of the recent raid and the information Shalelu brings to us today I felt it prudent to gather all the information we can on the topic. If you would like to repeat now what you told me earlier Shalelu?”  
“Certainly. Sheriff Belor's told me of your work against the goblins; well done. I've dedicated the last several years of my life to keeping them from causing too much trouble around these parts, but they're tenacious and fecund little runts, like weeds that bite. There are five major goblin tribes in the region and, traditionally, they're pretty good at keeping each other in line with intertribal squabbles and the like. Yet from what I've been able to piece together, members of all five tribes were involved in the raid on Sandpoint. A fair number of the Mosswood goblins I dealt with yesterday were already pretty beat up, and there was a lot of chatter about the 'longshanks' who killed so many of them. Now that I've met you, it seems obvious from their descriptions who they were talking about, seems like you've made an impression. In any event, the fact that the five tribes are working together disturbs me. Goblin tribes don't get along unless they've got something big planned, and big plans require big bosses. I' m afraid that someone's moved in on the goblins and organized them. And judging by these recent raids, what they're organizing seems like bad news for all of us.”   
   
Uka watched Tel closely as Shalelu finished and saw on his face exactly what she'd expected. He looked quickly to Hearth and then to the door and it was clear to her that he was planning to run. He'd only gotten himself in this far on Hearths insistence Ameiko had told her and she thought it unlikely that the pair would stay to get themselves involved in a full scale goblin invasion. Diminutive though the creatures where they outnumbered the residents of Sandpoint to the extent that it made defence almost futile. Maybe they have the right idea Uka thought as she considered the odds herself and found them stacked significantly against the town. Thinking that a slightly more measured assessment was required Uka said, “are we sure that we're their intended target Shalelu?”  
“I believe so unfortunately,” said the elf. “They have abandoned their tribal grounds and have all moved to Thistletop. If it was only a couple of the tribes that had moved I’d assume it was them planning an attack on one of the other tribes. However with all the local goblin tribes involved there’s only one target for their forces left."   
Her words hung in the air with an ominous finality as the current situation became far more real to those sitting at the table.  
“Well, we'll never hold them off with the few men we have here,” said the sheriff with a worried tone in his voice. “However, I’ll take a small delegation south to Magnimar and see if i can’t pull some strings and call in some favours and land us a few extra guards. How long do you think we've got until they make their move Shalelu?”  
“Not long, perhaps a couple of weeks at the most.”  
“That should be more than enough time. I'll head off first thing in the morning and should be back within the week. In the mean time I take it you two will be staying here to help watch the place?” he said and looked to Tel and Uka.  
Uka looked to Tel expectantly. This will be the moment of truth she thought, and she found herself half expecting him to give only a firm 'no' before walking out the door. Still she considered, he even if he did say yes he might just be lying and head off during the night, despite his injuries.  
“Well, I’m not in the mood to build myself a new hut. So, yes, I will be staying. Though sheriff i can’t say that I approve of this increased leaning that the town seems to be doing on me,” said Uka with a slight huff in her tone. She couldn't let them get too used to her solving all their woes she told herself.  
“I’ll be staying too, until my injury is healed. For what good it'll do Hearth and I will help look after Sandpoint,” said Tel and Hearth rumbled his agreement from the ground floor. What an interesting development thought Uka as Mayor Deverin said, “I’m glad that we have a plan, make all possible haste sheriff Belor and thank you for your assistance Tel, hearth and Uka. It is very much appreciated the help you have offered. I think that a measured release of this information to the townsfolk is in order, which I myself shall organise. If you would I would appreciate your discretion on this matter.”  
There was a general nod of ascent around the table and, seeming satisfied, the mayor began to speak again pressing both Shalelu and sheriff Belor for further details on the goblins and the finer points of the plan. The defence of Sandpoint would be meticulously planned, if largely futile, thought Uka. Although she didn’t doubt that the sheriff would make good on his offer to bring in more help from Magnimar to the south she wondered just how many men he would actually get. Not enough she was prepared to wager. Magnimar was many things, but magnanimous was not one of them. The grubby merchants would probably see it as a mild disappointment that they’d no longer be able to ship Sandpoint’s glassware to foreign markets but aside from that few of the real powers would see any reason to help the town. Uka decided that she’d see this little meeting out to the end, glean all she could about the forces and peoples in play and perhaps come up with her own plan. She was sure she could do better than the current ‘wait around to get overrun’.   
Tel found the drone of voices easy to tune as he sat and stared at the table. His mind was elsewhere and if he was honest he didn’t really care much at all about the details of the goblins and their chiefs or the finer points of getting help from Magnimar. All he was thinking about was what had possessed him to agree to watch and even defend a doomed town. He could always just leave he knew, his word wasn't binding him here in any real way. But a part of him really did want to stay and that part of him seemed to have an ally in Hearth, whose rumble of support to his voiced decision to stay left no doubt as to his position. If he was honest with himself part of him that had been coming to like the town hearth had insisted he try to get to know. Continuing on the vein of honesty Tel had to admit that he didn’t really care about the vast majority of the people here, or the town as a whole, but only two in particular. Ameiko and Uka were the closest things to normal friends he'd ever really had in his life and certainly in the last few years. He knew that they wouldn’t leave the town and he admitted to himself that the thought of just leaving them here wasn’t an overly appealing one. Though he also knew that if it looked like the town was overrun he'd leave it and them in an instant, Hearth and he came first after all. But the close proximity of the ocean and its promise of an easy escape route, for goblins had no means at all of pursuit over its turbulent surface, helped ease him into the somewhat radical thought of staying. Besides, it was only for a week and it was entirely likely the goblins wouldn't show until he was long gone and the extra guards had arrived to save the day. Demonstrating his usual uncanny form of intuition that Tel felt bordered on telepathy Hearth reared up to the mezzanine where they sat and gave Tel an encouraging coo and a playful huff that sent his hair into his face. The other members at the table didn’t share the reassured feeling that came over Tel from Hearths actions. Uka looked unfazed completely but the looks of alarm on the other faces were unmistakable.  
“By all the gods settle down. Get your hand away from that sword, Belor, you idiot. Do you really think it means us harm? And if it did do you really think you could stop it?” said Uka and snapped Tel out of his introspection. “Tel, if you’re not going to pay attention you can leave if you wish. You can meet me at the Rusty Dragon and I’ll come by and change those bandages when we're done here.”  
“Okay,” said Tel, grateful for the way out and slightly embarrassed by the fact he had no idea what they were discussing. He sat up, collected Hearth, and headed out into the afternoon sun.  
“Ugh, what have i volunteered us for Hearth?” he said as the dragon rolled him up onto his neck. Hearth gave another reassuring coo. “Sometimes i really wonder what’s gotten into you,” said Tel and he gave Hearth a quick scratch behind the horns. “But promise me that at the first signs of real danger we're out of here, ok?” An affirmative 'roooo' accompanied a small nod from Hearth as they made their way back towards the Rusty Dragon’s stables. The townsfolk, still rather unsure of Hearth, parted before them as they went with the odd brave soul greeting them from a safe distance. Some of the greetings were by name and it struck Tel that the only thing that seemed to travel faster than Hearth in this town was interesting gossip.  
When they arrived at the Rusty Dragon Ameiko was already getting ready for the night’s dinner service. Seeing nothing better to be done with his time and to assuage his feeling of debt towards the friendly innkeeper he offered their aid in the kitchen work. They repeated their jobs from breakfast having found an easy rhythm with Tel doing the manual labour, Ameiko taking care of the more technical aspects and Hearth up to his shoulders through the door ‘helping’. Hearth lit the fire with his usual ease, although being the show off that he was used far more fire than was necessary and gave Ameiko a fright. After he did this he looked at Tel with the puzzled expression he usually reserved for when he thought Tel had missed making an obvious next step. Ameiko laughed it off in any case and Tel was assigned a large pot of potatoes to peel. The work once again passed in relative silence with Tel lost in his internal struggle over their decision to stay and Ameiko reading the young man's thoughtful face as unwilling to chat. Soon after Tel felt he'd gotten half way through the potatoes a cheerful Halfling, who Ameiko greeted warmly as Bethana, entered the kitchen. Although initially put off by Hearth's head in the back doorway she was quickly convinced by Ameiko that he was friendly and began helping with the preparations. Bethana was much more receptive to Ameiko’s desire to chat and the two were soon carrying a lively conversation that Tel was only dimly aware of as he peeled yet another potato. Tel cracked a smile as he noticed Hearth trying to beg food off the Halfling, the diminutive woman showing surprising bluster towards the probing snout that could have swallowed her whole. Immediately after he smiled he braced himself for the usual wave of guilt over his starving of Hearth but the memory of watching his friend gorge on horsemeat broke the wave long before it reached the shore and it arrived as only a lapping ripple. Hearth was likely more curious than hungry he decided; that or just being mischievous.  
The conversation going on behind him eventually turned to the topic of Ameiko’s suitors in the town and Bethana jokingly predicting which of the men rumoured to be madly in love with her would muster the courage to make a move. Tel found the conversation far more interesting than he could explain. He listened in what he hoped was a stealthy fashion as he wasn't quite ready to admit to Ameiko’s face that he found her beautiful. Though he didn't exactly feel enamoured with her either, unlike some of the poor men Bethana spoke of.   
“What about that one?” Tel heard Bethana say. “You seem to have taken a shine to him.”   
For a horrible moment Tel thought that they were talking about him but then he heard Hearth give a satisfied warble and realised who the true subject of that comment was.  
“I don’t know, he’s a bit too fiery for my tastes,” said Ameiko and they both had a chuckle at the joke. Then Ameiko added, in a more thoughtful tone, “I’d love to get to know him better though.”  
“Wouldn't we all eh? No one'd call you short riding that beast, that’s for damn sure. And to go soaring through the clouds with him on his back...”  
Both of the women seemed to still be under the assumption that Tel wasn’t listening to their conversation and he made no move to dispel the myth. He just listened to them discussing the finer points of dragon husbandry and the joys of dragon ownership. Although Tel made no claims of an exhaustive knowledge of dragons his experience told him they were wrong on many points. Primarily that, in his experience, you didn't so much own a dragon as you had the privilege of calling him friend. Finishing with the potato peeling Tel made his way back over to Hearth to give him a pat. Seeing Tel at last away from his potatoes Bethana moved to introduce herself but her words were intercepted by Uka’s harsh tone.  
“Tel, those dressings need changing. Come out here and I’ll do it for you.”  
Tel amazed himself in his readiness to obey the woman. She wasn't that old at all and yet she held this matronly weight of command in her voice which she wielded like a mace. While his mind had been contemplating Uka’s unspoken authority his body had been obediently moving out into the hay shed he called home. Hearth followed them as they went and lay down nearby as Tel sat on his stool.   
“I can’t get at the wounds if you’re going to sit there like that.”  
“Should I turn to the-”  
“The clothes you dolt. I’m not going to butcher Ameiko’s wardrobe to get at those wounds.”  
“You want me to…”  
“If you’re about to say ‘take my clothes off’ then yes. And hurry up about it. Father Zantus has asked me to come over to the cathedral once I’m done here.” Growing impatient with Tel’s wasting of her precious time and becoming increasingly keen to finally put her feet up for the afternoon Uka searched her head for something she could use to cow the fool into hurrying up. Her keen mind soon provided an excellent prod. “I’ve seen it all before Tel. Now hurry up.”  
It had the desired effect. Tel went beet red and then began to strip immediately while avoiding eye contact wherever possible. Between the rapier point of her fearsome intellect and the heavy bludgeon of her tone Uka had the remarkable ability to talk people into doing what she thought best. She had made a point to understand people and their motivations, how they thought and what they wanted. Not for her the intuitive and easy going charisma of Ameiko, she had a very different way with words. But both were effective she decided as Tel finished stripping and sat back on the stool. She considered making some comment about the chill in the air but decided the young man had had enough, for the time being at least. The wounds looked as though they hadn’t reopened as there was only a slight darkening of the bandages and, heartened by the fact, Uka began her work. She removed the bandages carefully and Tel found himself morbidly fascinated with the whole affair. He couldn’t look away as the bandages slowly revealed the wound but his curiosity turned to pain and regret when Uka lifted a fresh scab away with the bandages. “Arhhh,” Tel cried into the backs of his teeth and he winced. The movement wasn’t much but it was enough to get the rest of the scab bleeding.  
“Tel if you’re going to be looking at it at least ensure that you’re prepared to deal with it.”  
“I’m fine.”  
Uka continued her work with a small huff and as the last of the dressing was removed Tel was amazed to see the amount of healing that had occurred. It could only be due to the magic Uka had used to seal the wounds he thought. Although it still looked red and angry and the stitches had pulled uncomfortably tight under the swelling the wound appeared to have sealed already. They still ached deeply but not believing his eyes Tel gently poked at the wound on his chest.  
“Tsk! Don’t poke at it.”  
As if on cue to frustrate the witch a huge scaled head showed a similar interest in the wound and began to sniff at it inquisitively. Hearth looked at the wound and then to Tel. “They’re healing well, aren’t they Hearth?” The dragon stared back with bright happy eyes and warbled melodically. He went in for another sniff and began to open his mouth to lick at the wound. As soon as his mouth opened there was an ‘UHT!’ from Uka and Hearth, seemingly taking the same bludgeoning everyone suffered from Uka’s tone, stopped. “Tel, if he wants to lick the wounds he can slobber up his tongue and I will apply it to the wound myself. I don’t trust it to not disturb the stitches.”  
Hearth gave a quizzical look. Tel knew Hearth understood a lot of what went on around him but a concept like that he was unlikely to grasp. “I don’t think he’ll understand what I mean,” Tel conveyed honestly.  
“Then get him to open his mouth.” Tel did so and Uka looked into the dragons maw with a slight feeling of trepidation. Something in the back of her mind was telling her, in no uncertain terms, that something with teeth like that was only good for running away from. Dismissing the thought as an unhelpful instinctive reaction her curiosity carried the day and she couldn’t help but make a brief dental inspection. The first thing that stood out to her was the strange ridge that Hearth had on the inside of his teeth. All his teeth were buttressed which gave them a strange, almost T shaped, cross section where they met the gum but some had a horizontal ‘step’ on the buttress. It was present on every tooth, top and bottom, save those at the front, and created a shelf that ran the length of his mouth. Furthering the mystery was the fact that there seemed to be small notches in his smaller front teeth that lined up with the strange oral shelf. She resolved to make a note of it when she got home and to inquire further when time permitted but for now general fatigue brought her back to the task at hand. She knew that Hearth wouldn’t leave the wounds alone until he felt they had been treated to his satisfaction and from what Tel had said about never having an infected wound that Hearth had licked she wasn’t entirely sure the dragons idea of treated was wrong.  
Seeing a likely pool of saliva just behind his bottom teeth she reached for it but just as her hand was about to cross the threshold of those wickedly sharp and enormous teeth she retracted it. “I take it you’re competent enough to teach him not to bite?”   
“He wouldn’t bite someone he likes.”  
Taking what reassurance she could from that statement Uka reached into Hearth’s mouth and dipped her fingers into the saliva. It had a slightly strange, almost gelatinous, consistency and it clung to her fingers as she withdrew them, trailing long strings of dragon slobber. She began gently finger painting it onto Tel’s wounds under Hearth’s close scrutiny. As she worked she noticed that the inside of Hearth’s mouth had a strange, acrid, almost slightly alchemical smell to it and assumed it was to do with the torrents of flame he could issue. Or maybe that was the substance that prevented infection? She realised as she worked that her increasingly lengthy list of questions only built on her hope that the wandering pair would stay in Sandpoint a while longer. 

Uka finished up her work and tied off the last of the bandages around Tel’s shin. “Be careful on it, it’s coming along well but anything strenuous will reopen the wounds,” she said as she gathered up the soiled linens.   
“I’ll be careful,” Tel assured her and then, after a pause, said, “Thank you Uka.” Tel realised that he owed the witch a great deal, from the coins in his purse to the stitches in his leg and chest. Despite the assurances of the darker parts of his mind that this was all motivated by self-interest he couldn’t help but feel a little gratitude towards her. Also he reminded himself, Hearth seems to think she’s genuine.  
The thanks surprised Uka sufficiently that all she could give was a small ‘hmh’ and a nod before she walked briskly away with an armful of bloody rags.   
As soon as he was out from under that stern gaze Tel grabbed his clothes and put them on as quickly as he could while taking care not to bother his injuries. It wasn’t the ache or the pull of the stitches he was avoiding so much as the fear of Uka’s disapproval. If he reopened the wounds death by blood loss would probably be less painful than returning to Uka for help. 

Just as he managed to pop his head back out the top of his borrowed tunic the back door of the inn opened and Ameiko and Shalelu stepped through. “I just saw Uka on her way out, she tells me you’re healing up well,” said Ameiko as she made her way over.  
“She’s a very proficient healer, yes,” Tel said as he adjusted his tunic and trousers to be more comfortable. “Thank you for loaning me these too, I’ll happily buy you some new ones.”  
Finishing up his adjustments Tel turned to look at the two women but only one of them returned his gaze. Shalelu was staring, in rapt fascination, at Hearth again. Ameiko smiled, “oh don’t worry about that, they’re old clothes anyway.” Instead of waiting for Tel to reply she took the elf by the shoulders and gently thrust her forward. “This is an old friend of mine, Shalelu. She’s the ranger I told you about.”  
“It’s a pleasure to see you again Tel, and you too Hearth,” Shalelu said, somewhat awkwardly.   
“It’s good to see you again, too,” Tel replied before he shot Ameiko a quick glare who knew exactly what it was for. Hearth just gave a warm warble or greeting.  
“I told her all about the pair of you and she was most keen to meet with you both under less stuffy circumstances,” Ameiko said without breaking stride, “I was sure the pair of you had time for a chat.”  
Before Tel could think of some way to get out of the situation without flat out walking away or wonder how much Ameiko might have told the elf Shalelu filled the silence.  
“Hearth is an amazing creature Tel, from what Ameiko tells me you are very close, the two of you” she said without taking her eyes of Hearth. Unsure quite how he should respond or how he should feel about having his story shared around it took Tel a moment to gather his thoughts for a response. It was only natural for people to talk he supposed and short of killing everyone in the town the genie was out of the proverbial bottle. So instead he just tried to answer the question as levelly as he could. Though he found talking to Shalelu easier for all her focus on Hearth as he found talking to Ameiko was very much like fencing with the ocean.   
“He’s my dearest friend,” Tel answered truthfully. At his answer Shalelu turned to face him, something in his answer finally drawing her attention from Hearth.  
“Your accent, it is Chelaxian, is it?”  
“Yes, it is.”  
“And your branding, on your face there, that is Chelaxian too, is it not?”   
Ameiko looked like she was about to strangle the poor elf. Tel’s mind immediately reached for the panic button, convinced that this elf ranger was in fact a bounty hunter and that Sandpoint had all been some giant scam to get him to drop his guard. Ameiko read exactly what was happening behind Tel’s eyes and her heart sunk. He was going to run, that much was written on his face. She could just see all her hard work, all those little steps, going up in smoke. He’d be a ghost on the wind, essentially untraceable given the nature of his transport, and he sure as hell wouldn’t be coming back here. Internally she cursed; of course she forgot to tell Shalelu not to mention the branding, how could she be so stupid? As Tel’s mind went to panic and Ameiko’s went to flip a table Hearth gave a soothing drone, the deep tenor of which rolled over the occupants of the courtyard like a gentle wave. Tel quickly realised that Hearth had read his mind like usual and that he was trying to calm him. Once again his trust in Hearth fought a battle with his fears and paranoia. As always his trust won out and in light of the events of their recent flight it won easily. Gone was the internal struggle of before and in its place just a calm diffusal of the anxiety before it got started. With a steadying breath and a hand placed on Hearth’s flank Tel composed himself and said, as evenly as he could, “Yes, I was a slave there.”  
Ameiko looked like she’d had a bucket of water tipped over her head. She quickly recovered from her surprise and smiled warmly while Shalelu, oblivious to the drama she nearly incited, carried on.  
“I’m glad you both escaped. I disapprove, strongly, of the practice.”  
“No one is happier about our escape than Hearth and I.”  
“I can well imagine, the thought of a man and so noble a beast caged is not a pleasant one. But Ameiko tells me that you were in the army when you met one another?”  
Tel considered his response to this question very carefully; this elf ranger was asking a lot of questions. On the one hand he appreciated her forthrightness as Ameiko had this funny way of getting you to offer information you’d have rather kept to yourself. On the other hand it made him feel interrogated and he couldn’t help but question her motives. He’d told Ameiko about his first encounter with Hearth in a fit of drunken stupidity and he was still unsure why, though he had to admit his social skills were a little rusty and the what and why of people were a foggy memory. He settled on a guarded, “yes.”  
“And she told me you were tried for dereliction of duty when you didn’t shoot him down?”  
Holy crap Ameiko had a good memory. Tel shot the innkeeper another hard glare. This was all so confusing to him. He was frustrated at himself for giving away potentially harmful information in his drunken condition. He was angry with Ameiko for sharing it. He didn’t really know what the hell he was doing in this town, let alone standing here answering questions. Hearth came to his mental rescue again and before his mind could run away with him the scaled snout nudged him gently on the cheek and blew a soft huff of air over his face.

Ameiko watched the scene unfolding and guilt stabbed at her heart. With Hearth’s support Tel had made a fine recovery from his state of near panic the first time but the pain in his features was very real while it lasted. Seeing it written all over his face again so soon, and it being her fault, was not what she had in mind. She considered her options again. She didn’t want to overtly step in and risk Tel feeling like he was being protected as she was sure his proud and stubborn head would have none of that. Instead she drew on the dragon for inspiration. Hearth was clearly trying to support Tel to do this, indeed the pairs decision to stay in town was largely Hearth’s doing, and so she decided she’d work with the dragon. She’d already ruled out telling Shalelu to back off, but perhaps vouching for her character would be the grease this situation needed.  
“It’s ok Tel, you can trust her. I’ve known Shalelu a long time and I can promise you she’d never let that information fall into the wrong hands.” Ameiko poured as much honesty and comfort into her words as she could and it seemed to have the desired effect. Tel took a deep breath and Shalelu, picking up that her line of questioning was such that it needed a character reference, decided to change the subject.  
“So Ameiko tells me that you ride Hearth. And also that you fought the goblins that raided the town last night.”  
Tel was a little unsure how to answer both questions at once and he considered a couple of different responses before settling on, “yes.”  
“Amazing…” she trailed off. “So what’s flying on him like?”  
“Cold mostly, and windy. But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t the best feeling I’ve ever experienced.”  
“I’ll admit that I’m more than a little jealous. I can only imagine how it must feel. Does he breathe fire?”  
“Hah! More than is needed to light my meagre cooking fire, that’s for sure,” said Ameiko and she gave Hearth a teasing look. Time to inject a little levity into this conversation she decided.  
Hearth tossed his head playfully and gave his croaking laugh, perfectly prepared to join in the fun.  
Tel and Shalelu both smiled at Hearth’s antics before the barrage of questions continued.  
“His scales are unlike any dragon, or demi-dragon, I’ve ever heard of. Do you know where he comes from?”  
“No, not really. He just kinda showed up that day.”  
“Interesting… How did he get that nasty scar on his chest?” Tel did his best to hide the cringe at the memory that scar brought up and he inwardly hated the elf for her keen eyes.  
“I’m not really sure,” Tel said, and looked grateful when Shaelu failed to detect the lie. Ameiko on the other hand seemed to know exactly what that statement was and filed it away for later examination.   
“May I… touch him?”  
Tel looked up to Hearth who nodded and seemed to rather enjoy being the centre of attention. Shalelu approached cautiously but steadily and the great head was lowered to meet her. She touched the smooth black scales almost reverently and gently ran her hand the length of a horn.   
“He’s beautiful,” she mumbled almost unconsciously under her breath. Her reverence was shattered by the back door flying open.  
“Am I going to be running this kitchen all on me lonesome tonight while y’all pat the winged snake?” Bethana yelled from the doorway.   
Ameiko laughed. “I’m coming Beth, don’t worry.”  
“Good, and go get your samisen, folks’ve been asking after a tune.”  
“Well, Shalelu and Tel, can I offer you a meal and a tune?”  
Shalelu nodded in thanks but Tel shook his head.  
“No, I’ve had enough of people for one day. If Hearth’s keen I might go for another fly and then turn in for the night. Thanks for the offer though.”  
“Suit yourself, I’ll leave a meal out for you in the kitchen, you’ve paid for it after all,” Ameiko said with a playful wink.  
Tel smiled and looked up to Hearth who confirmed his desire for a fly as he lowered his head and rolled it for Tel to mount up. As he rose into the air the tired young man missed the wistful look in the eyes of both Shalelu and Ameiko. A man with a mind more focussed on womanly pursuit might have made good use of that information but Tel only wanted to empty his. Sometime during their conversation the sun had slipped behind the horizon and the purple glow of twilight was the only illumination as the pair began the plod down the small lane to their runway in the plaza. Ameiko and Shalelu watched them soar into the sky, a shrinking blot on the rapidly darkening sky.  
“Those two are an interesting pair Ameiko, I was initially convinced you’d exaggerated it in the telling.”  
“Not this time my friend. Though I worry about them too.”  
“I’m more jealous than worried, if I’m honest. Few get to ply the skies on the wings of a dragon, and fewer still can claim a friend so loyal.”  
“I count myself among those with loyal friends,” Ameiko said with a smile, “But they’re obviously running from scars deeper than those they wear on their skin, and last night Tel alluded to the fact that they’d been through a lot together.”  
“I dare say they’d pay whatever the price of their companionship a hundred times over, and who better to endure that price with than each other?”  
“I’d love to know that tale.”  
“You never change Ameiko.”  
“A girl’s got to have her hobbies.”  
“You’re more like a dragon with a peculiar type of hoard.”  
“Alas I can’t sit atop mine, nor roll about in it.”  
“No, but it helps write the songs that keep the Rusty Dragon full. That and your cooking.”  
“Well, I’d better get back to those things. But while I do, would you come and increase my hoard with tales of your latest patrol?”  
“Of course my friend, I can think of no better way to spend an evening.”  
High above them, with the cool night air whipping over their faces, Tel and Hearth were thinking exactly the same thing.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi everyone, sorry for the long wait on the new chapter. I couldn’t find a place to leave it and then got a bit carried away. Apologies in advance for any formatting issues as I typed this up on my tablet and not in MS Word like I usually do. So if you see anything painful to the eyes please let me know and I’ll fix it up. Also, if you enjoy this story please share it around and feel free to post links to it wherever. 

This chapter is a bit of a slow one but I hope it provides a window into the world while the plot thickens … Enjoy =)

CHAPTER 3  
Ameiko awoke early the next morning to find the plate of food she’d left on the table eaten and a quick peek out the back door revealed the sleeping forms of Tel and Hearth crammed into their little hay shed. She’d slept so soundly that she hadn’t even heard them come in for the night. Briefly she considered going over and waking them up but she decided that she’d let them rest. Yesterday had been exhausting for Tel she knew and so she instead busied herself with the morning’s routine.

Tel awoke to his bed fidgeting. He opened his eyes and looked to see Hearth trying to crane his neck out of the hay shed and get a look at the back of the inn.   
“What’s the matter Hearth? Is something wrong?” asked the ever anxious Tel. Hearth snorted and shook his head.   
“Shall we get up then and have a look?”   
This got a warble of agreement and Tel dropped his legs off Hearth and gingerly tried to stand. His leg offered no more than a dull ache of protest and he was almost tempted to have a look under the wraps to see just how fast it was healing. He considered Uka’s likely reaction to him doing so and decided against it; it’s best not to look a gift horse in the mouth after all. With Hearth in the lead the pair of them made their way over to the back of the inn and Tel opened the door. As soon as he did the smells of breakfast washed over him.   
“Are you hungry my friend?”   
Hearth licked his lips.  
“I’ll take that as a yes. Tell you what; I’ll see if Ameiko will give me something to eat on the way to buy you a cow.”   
Hearth nodded. Ameiko wasn’t in the kitchen and Tel felt it would be rather poor form to just take what he wanted, even though he was pretty sure Ameiko wouldn’t mind and would give it to him if he asked. He wondered briefly where this sudden sense of propriety came from as he remembered his first attempt to raid the kitchen. He decided to look for her in the inn’s common room and found her sitting there chatting with Shalelu and some of the other patrons. He walked over and as he did so realised that he rarely sought out conversation as it usually came, unwelcome, to him.   
“Morning Ameiko.”  
“Oh, morning Tel. Did you sleep well?”  
“Very, thank you. I was wondering if I might take my breakfast with me today. Hearth and I are going to look into buying some stock for him to eat.”  
“Of course you can, just stuff whatever you want into a cobb loaf, it even flavours the bread that way. And if you’re looking for stock I can recommend the town’s slaughterhouse.”  
“We’d rather collect food from the outlying farms as Hearth doesn’t need his meat butchered.”  
“Suit yourselves. So what else have you got planned for the day?”  
“Err… I’m not sure. Why?”  
“Just wondering,” said Ameiko with a smile.  
“Well, thanks for breakfast,” said Tel, trying to get away.   
He felt a bit on display with the table full of seated people all watching his conversation with Ameiko so closely.  
“Hope it goes well for you, and have a good flight.”  
“You too,” he said as he walked back towards the kitchen and immediately realised what he had said. He felt his cheeks flush red and was glad he was facing away from the table of spectators. Just as he arrived at the door to the kitchen he though he heard Shalelu say jokingly to Ameiko, “hah, you wish.”

Tel wasted no time grabbing a loaf of bread, pulling the top off, squashing the insides down a bit and piling it with eggs, bacon and a chunk of cheese. He pinched a couple of carrots to chew on and a downed two large mugs of water which lent him a gentle slosh as he moved back out to where Hearth was waiting in the courtyard.   
“You ready to get some food?” Tel said with his arms full of his own breakfast. Hearth gave a mocking huff in reply. After grabbing his coin purse they mounted up and took off from their usual spot. After nearly losing his bread loaf to Hearth’s exuberance on take-off Tel found it surprisingly difficult to eat while flying. More than once he stared wistfully after an egg or a rash of bacon as it plummeted to the ground. But despite his losses he was still enormously full when they spotted the first of the farms. 

Tel deliberately chose one close to town as proximity was the best chance they had of their role in the defence of Sandpoint getting them an introduction that involved minimal screaming. They circled down to the farmhouse and flying as low and slow as they could began a search for the herdsman. They soon located him and his herd of cows and landed as far away as Tel thought necessary to avoid spooking the cattle. He dismounted and, regretting his earlier gluttony, began his painful walk over. Thankfully the man didn’t flee at the sight of them, though he was definitely on edge and didn’t initially return Tel’s wave of greeting. As they grew close enough to make talking an option Tel decided that, as the man made no move to speak, he should try his hand at meeting new people. After trying out a couple of openers in his head he settled on a direct approach.  
“Hi, I want to buy two of your cows.”   
“You’d be that dragon riding fellow what helped out the town the other night, yeah?”  
No, idiot, I’m the other dragon riding fellow in the area, thought Tel but he kept it to himself.  
“Yes. And I need to buy some of your cows for food.” Despite Tel not being the finest conversationalist and the man being on edge at Hearth’s presence the herdsman’s natural desire to take another man’s gold spurred him on.  
“What’cha lookin’ to spend?”  
Tel suddenly realised that he had absolutely no idea what a cow was worth around here and inwardly kicked himself for not asking Ameiko before he’d left. He wracked his memories of his life before the pits for anything that might help him. A horse was worth 70 gold or so he seemed to remember and he wanted to offer less than what the herdsman wanted.   
“35 gold.”  
“Well, I see you drive a hard bargain there. The going rate round ‘ere’s 50 a head. But I’ll let you have two for 40 each, on the condition I can pat yer beastie.”

Tel, for what felt to the young man like the hundredth time, was completely surprised by the words that came out of the mouth of someone he was talking to. Hearth had been a symbol of fear and hatred where he had originally lived in Cheliax, thought of as little more than an engine of loss and destruction. This man’s desire to pat Hearth was not what he had expected. Reading Tel’s surprised face the herdsman continued.  
“I ‘eard from the butcher yesterd’y about him all leading the towns defence. That was mighty brave o’ the two of you, coming to our aid like that. Also, bragging rights for me if I say I touched ‘im, eh?”  
Tel turned to look at Hearth who warbled and then cast a longing look over at the herd of cattle. He reached into his coin purse and withdrew 80 of the thin gold coins.   
“We have a deal,” said Tel as he handed the coins over.  
“Excellent. Say, he doesn’t bite or the like does he?” the herdsman asked as they made their way back to Hearth.  
“Only if he wants to.”   
The poor man looked not at all reassured by Tel’s words but a sense of awe and the impression that this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity, along with a lifetime of bragging rights, drove him on. As they got within what the herdsman felt was strike range he looked to Tel for reassurance.  
“He usually gives fair warning if he intends harm,” said Tel matter-of-factly.

His confidence bolstered he continued his approach and Hearth obligingly lowered his head for the man who reverently placed his hand on the offered snout.  
“He’s so warm and smooth,” the man said almost absentmindedly. Hearth chose that moment to, without warning, give the man a lick and a nudge. He jumped in surprise and Hearth croaked merrily at his shock. The man quickly composed himself when he realised nothing hostile had occurred.  
“Cheeky one, isn’t he? Well, I suppose we all get a bit testy when we’re hungry. Tell you what, I’ll go and grab your cows.”  
“Thank you,” was all Tel replied.  
“Ah, thank you. No one’ll believe this when I tell em,” he said with a conspiratorial wink and he moved off to collect their cows. Tel realised that he hadn’t specified exactly which cows he’d just purchased and the gnawing feeling that he’d just been swindled began to eat at him. Your life now depends on your honesty, he thought as he watched the man separating his two cows. Tel had been used far too often in his life to tolerate it happening again. Always being on the losing end of the deal had left him with a rather short fuse for such things, a dangerously short one in fact. Of course he’d have to leave town if he killed the man, but another move mattered little to a pair of nomads. He did worry that it might disappoint Hearth though, as his friend seemed to have chosen Sandpoint as something of a project, although exactly what he hoped to achieve remained a mystery. Still, the fact that Hearth was doing this for him was truly humbling and, in the end, he decided that he would support his friend’s efforts to support him and not kill the man in the event of a swindling. He consoled himself with the thought that they could just take an extra cow if needs be.

The dark train of thought was rendered entirely unnecessary a couple of minutes later when two very plump cows were herded over to them.   
“He looks like he eats a lot, so I thought I’d better make it two bigguns,” the herdsman called when within earshot. “Does he need me to kill ‘em for him?”  
“No, he can do that himself. Do you mind if he eats them here?”  
“Not really. Say, I’m always looking to expand my customer base, will you be lookin to buy more cows in the near future? I can do you the same good price.”  
Given how much he hated new people Tel decided that a regular supplier might be something worth having if they did intend to stay in Sandpoint. He’d stay as long as Hearth wanted to he supposed, only urging them to leave if he felt they were threatened; that or all the people drove him mad. Though he felt Hearth would happily be on board for leaving if he was that anxious to. But until something drastic happened he’d do whatever he could to support Hearth’s project.  
“That would be appreciated.”  
“Just fly past the house, drop me a few coins and take your pick. You seem like a trustworthy sort of fellow, bonafide heroes by the tellings coming outta the town.”  
Tel wasn’t sure how he felt about the label, though it was better than what he was labelled further south. Conspicuously to Tel his previous label, despite it being stamped across his face, seemed to mean precisely nothing here. Ameiko and Uka had been correct, though he didn’t think he’d ever admit it to their faces. 

Growing impatient with what he detected as a conversation not entirely about whether or not he could eat those cows Hearth gave a loud huff. He looked to Tel for the go ahead and as soon as Tel’s head began its nod he short forward with incredible speed and with a rake of his claw and a snap of his jaws he tore the throats out of both animals. They barely had time to react and both hit the ground where they had been standing. The herdsman’s face was deathly pale as the demonstration of Hearth’s speed and power brought home the realisation of just how dangerous the dragon was. He swallowed nervously as Hearth began his messy meal.  
“He’s… he’s a quick one and no mistake... If you don’t need anything else I’ll, ah, probably be on me way.”  
“We’re fine. And thank you.”  
“Any… Any time. Just pop past if he gets hungry again.”  
“We will.”  
With that the herdsman headed back to his cows, giving Hearth an especially wide berth as he did so. 

Tel looked over to the fleeing herdsman and chuckled to himself over his reaction to Hearth’s speed. The poor man had nearly soiled himself. Tel wondered about himself then, the fact that he found Hearth a lot safer to be around than people. It was a matter of trust he supposed, he trusted Hearth more than he trusted people, while the folk of Sandpoint seemed to trust people more than Hearth. He wondered how these people would react if they knew that he found them just as intimidating as they found Hearth. He watched his friend feed and it gave him a happy glow to see him satisfied so. They’d have to start supplementing his diet with wild game as buying every meal would soon run them out of coins. But with avoiding detection no longer a concern that posed almost no problem at all. He could also make more jewellery he thought, or perhaps barter his and Hearth’s services for more stock. He cut that strand of thought down where it stood, it sounded an awful lot like settling and that was something he knew they could never do. Sitting here in a green field with a full belly and soaking up the morning sun it all seemed so possible. But the price he knew would be on their heads would eventually see someone making a move on them. 

Tel pushed that dark thought from his mind and resolved to make the most of this while it lasted. He lay back on the grass and stared up at the sky, his quiet reverie frequently interrupted by Hearth crunching through the bones of the cattle. He’d tuned out worse noises in the past though he couldn’t help but subtly enjoy the sounds of his friend catching up on lost time and it soothed his guilt slightly. Soon however the noises stopped and a bloody snout was thrust into his face with Hearth still licking off what he could reach with his tongue. The well fed dragon laid around Tel like a giant horseshoe and gave a satisfied rumble followed by a soothing coo.  
“I’m glad you enjoyed that my friend,” said Tel as he pushed himself backwards and propped himself up against Hearth. He noticed with some shame the scratch in the scale above the eye looking back at him and an idea formed in his mind.  
“You know Hearth, back in the pits I used to train with the beasts to fight as a team. After the somewhat poor showing we put in the other night it might be a good idea for us to get a little practice under our belt. At very least it might stop us getting in each other’s way and hopefully might even give us a few tricks of our own, eh? We might need them if we get into another fight with the goblins, or anyone else for that matter.”   
The exact details of what he said seemed to go over Hearth’s head but he put together that Tel was asking him to do something. He picked his head up and gave an affirmative, if slightly unsure, warble.   
“Ah, don’t worry my friend, I know you’ll pick it up when I show you.” Hearth gave a roo to indicate his continued agreement of whatever it was Tel was suggesting. 

When finally the pair summoned the motivation to get up and continue the day the sun had climbed far and was on its way to its zenith. Working from the glow of a laze in the sun and a full belly they mounted up, took off, and began a search for a halfway decent place to get in a bit of practice. After circling the town they landed back in their old clearing where their misadventures regarding the town had truly begun. As he dismounted Tel looked around to see the discarded remains of his impromptu casting apparatus and smiled. This clearing had served them well on his visits and now it would be repurposed as a training ground. Although darker thoughts assailed him at the recollection of such places in his past he found that the very different circumstances this time around took the edge off somewhat. He went and cut himself some thin branches to make sparring dummies and then found himself a stick about the same length as his sword. 

Hearth had shown his usual disinterest in Tel’s more industrial pursuits and plopped himself down where he could keep an eye on proceedings. Wielding his stick Tel wandered over to Hearth and prodded at the dozing creature gently.   
“Ok my friend, time to train out some of those kinks in our style,” he said continuing his prodding assault on the jokingly lazy lizard. Hearth eventually moved under the barrage and once Tel had made some experimental cuts at the dummies the dragon quickly cottoned on to what they were doing. They made progress quickly as the deceptively intelligent Hearth and the trained beast master found they had a very natural rhythm together. Despite some early setbacks where Hearth utterly destroyed a dummy and it had to be replaced they found their time productively spent and by the time the sun was beginning to lower in the sky they’d worked out some simple co-ordinated moves together.   
“Hah, you’re a fast learner my friend,” Tel praised as they finished up for the day, “Much faster than any of the other creatures, including humans, I’ve called ally. Tell you what though; I think it’s getting on for my dinner time, given that we skipped lunch.”   
Hearth gave a mocking coo of sympathy and seeming to pick up that their training session was over and he eyed the dummies dangerously. Tel felt the heat immediately as Hearth’s dangerous look gained a mischievous gleam and he summoned his fire.   
“No! Wait!” Tel cried and Hearth let the summoned power slowly ebb away before giving Tel a questioning look.  
“I was thinking we might try to practice more regularly and I’d rather not build a new set of dummies every time. Though I suppose you want to practice with your breath don’t you, you great show pony?” Hearth blew a small tongue of flame with the last of his fading fire.  
“Not content to just startle innkeepers, eh?” mocked Tel and he gave his friend a gentle whack with his stick. Hearth gave Tel and incredulous look.  
“Don’t be looking at me like that, I’m not the one who’s so keen on making friends,” Tel said with a smile. Hearth gave a defeated huff.  
“Tell you what, why don’t we go have a look for somewhere it’s safe to let you flex those… muscles… flames, or whatever before we head home for dinner?” Hearth nodded emphatically.

Once airborne Tel found that the day was later than he had originally thought and the rapidly fading light was making it hard for him to find somewhere where he thought Hearth could safely have a play. He’d never actually given his friend a chance he realised; in their time on the run he’d always urged Hearth not to use his breath as nothing gave away the presence of a dragon like scorch marks and mysterious fires. He was aware that at some point during their initial run from the pits Hearth had burned a manor house to the ground but he was still recovering from his injuries and remembered the flaming structure more than the torrent of dragon fire. Thinking further back the only time he’d actually seen Hearth unleash his full fury was the day they escaped. The memory was still crystal clear and neither the blood loss nor the time since dulled the sensation of awe. He wondered too if Hearth was keen to see what he could do himself. The last three days had seen him better fed than ever before and when not lazing about he practically wiggled with energy. Bringing his mind back to the task at hand Tel realised that he really couldn’t see well enough to find a good spot.  
“I’m sorry Hearth, but my eyes aren’t good enough in this fading light to see much. First thing tomorrow though, I promise.” Seemingly placated by Tel’s assurances Hearth banked steeply and turned them back towards Sandpoint.

When the pair of them trotted around the back of the Rusty Dragon the last of the light was fading and the inn’s back door was spilling an inviting light out onto the courtyard cobblestones. Tel quickly dismounted and was pleased to note that their training session hadn’t aggravated his rapidly healing leg. Hearth plodded along easily behind him as he was drawn by a hungry stomach to the delicious smells hanging on the night air. He wasted only a moment reflecting on how differently he felt about this door a few days ago as he crossed to it before opening it and stepping through. The kitchen was warm with the heat of the cooking fire and Bethana was busily putting together meals to run out into the common room. She greeted Tel with a warm smile which he attempted to reciprocate.  
“I’ll have yours done in a second, just let me run these out,” she said.  
“No hurry,” said Tel, or at least he tried to as Hearth head-butted him further into the kitchen so he could have a look about himself. Bethana shot the dragon a warning look before disappearing out into the common room.

Mere moments after Bethana left the kitchen Ameiko entered.  
“I hear he gives joy rides,” she said with a smile, motioning to the huge head investigating the evening meals.   
“More like joy pats on the face,” Tel replied flatly after a brief pause deciphering her meaning. At this Ameiko only laughed.  
“Hah, I knew that old coot was too cowardly to get on him. But I expect you’re hungry from whatever it was that you did all day, yeah?”   
“I am yes.”   
Ameiko nodded and began to put together a meal on a wooden plate.  
“So, what did the pair of you get up to, other than giving farmers too much fuel for hot air of course?”  
Compulsively came the urge to lie, to not give any information to anyone, but the happily investigating Hearth soothed that voice and he decided to reply honestly.  
“We got in a bit of training; thought we’d build a bit more co-ordination in case the goblins attack before that sheriff gets back.”

Ameiko felt a surge of joy at this news and her mind immediately set to turning the piece of information over and deciding where it fitted into the bigger picture. That the two of them were taking measures to prepare to fight a potential goblin raid was incredibly heartening, though she noticed that the defence of the town wasn’t explicitly part of their plan. Still, it was a start. 

“Sounds like fun, what’d you work on?” Ameiko said in an easy tone, hoping to continue the conversation and learn more.  
“Not much, just some basic things.”   
Tel was a frustrating conversation partner Ameiko had to admit but she wasn’t out of momentum just yet. He’d changed a lot since their first encounter. Gone was that brash standoffishness and in its place a sort of flat awkwardness. She tried for a question that he could answer simply with the truth and that a flat answer to might still yield something interesting.   
“So you’re telling me the same dragon that has his face in everything in my kitchen just studiously trained for an entire day?”  
“Well, we only trained from noon, really. We spent the morning digesting breakfast. But no, he did try to incinerate my training dummies.”   
Ameiko laughed.  
“He’d had enough of their shit had he?”  
“I think he’d decided that we missed training his favourite weapon.”   
At this Hearth spat an entirely unnecessary little stream of fire into the already burning cooking fire and put on a smug expression.

Ameiko jumped at the sudden light and nearly dropped Tel’s assembled meal. Hearth, still looking awfully pleased with himself gave Tel an expectant look.  
“I promise Hearth, first thing tomorrow morning,” Tel said.   
Hearth seemed to think the man had missed the point again and gave him an apologetic nuzzling and a soft croon. Ameiko heard in those words something she was keen to capitalise on.  
“You’re going to go give his fire a train tomorrow morning?” she asked nonchalantly as she handed over the wooden plate and went to fetch a knife.  
“Yeah, I think he’s keen to see what he can do. Aren’t you, you great braggart?”   
Hearth gave a derisive snort. Ameiko judged the situation carefully. She badly wanted to see dragon fire and here was a very real chance, but she did not want to come out and straight up ask. Tel would likely either revert to his defensive demeanour if he felt he was being pressed to give more than he was comfortable doing or just more awkward. Hearth on the other hand was much more perceptive than he seemed and appeared to be keen to stay and socialise and so that, she decided, would be the angle she’d work.

“He likes an audience then I take it,” she said with a measured chuckle.  
“I think he just thinks he’s great and likes everyone to know it.”  
“Well, I’ve only ever seen you light a cooking fire,” she said to Hearth; her voice full of mock challenge. There was a moment of hesitation and Ameiko thought Hearth might have detected her steering of the conversation where Tel had not. But Hearth, either not detecting it after all or happy to play along, fixed her with an intense look and snorted a cloud of smoke over her as she returned with Tel’s knife, the hot air blowing her hair out behind her. Hearth immediately turned to Tel and narrowed his eyes. Tel smiled in the face of Hearth’s exaggerated outrage.  
“What, are you going to duel her for insulting your honour?”   
Tel sensed the building energy before he felt the heat of Hearth summoning his flaming breath.   
“You’re going to show her what you’re really capable of are you?” asked Tel, calling his friends bluff. Hearth gave a nod and let the power subside again. Ameiko sensed her moment.  
“If you want to impress me come and wake me before you leave,” she said to Hearth as she handed Tel his knife. Hearth looked to Tel.  
“Sure, I’ll come and get you up, and thanks for dinner,” was all Tel said before he turned to shoo Hearth out of the doorway and make his escape into the hayshed.   
“Tell you both what,” Ameiko said, “how about you two give me a chance to impress you? I play the samisen most nights here, I usually get positive reviews…”   
“I’ll pass, but thank you for the offer,” said Tel as he completed his escape into the night air.

His freedom was short lived however. He made it only half way to his hay shed before Uka materialised out of the shadows.  
“Ah, there you are. Good. I need to talk to you about something privately.”  
“Oh, okay.”  
“Father Xantus at the cathedral has heard strange noises coming from within a crypt and has sought our assistance in investigating the disturbance. He thinks it only some trapped goblins but I think it may be something more sinister.”  
“And you want us to help?”  
“Don’t be difficult. Obviously.”  
“But why us, shouldn’t you be talking to the remaining guards about this?”  
“Tel, if I thought that the correct course of action I would be doing that. The crypt in question is one with a somewhat troubling past and I see no reason to arouse superstitious gossip amongst the impressionable townsfolk.”  
“If we’re even to consider helping we’re going to need to know what we’re getting in to.”  
“It concerns a time of troubles in the towns recent history that isn’t spoken of.”  
“And I would care about that why?”

Uka gave Tel an appraising look. She wanted his help on this; the guards would talk even if she told them not to, she was sure of it, and if what she suspected was in fact true there might be a panic. Tel’s lack of care for the town might be used to her advantage here. He’d likely have seen worse and not think it particularly noteworthy and having not been involved in the recent unpleasantness was unlikely to think much of it or look for connections which weren’t there.   
“I don’t expect you to care Tel, and that is why I am here. Now, a few years ago there was a serial killer on the loose in the town, ‘chopper’ or so he was called, and he was actually a local woodcarver called ‘Stoot’. He killed a good many before Belor put him to the sword; that’s how the man became sheriff.”  
“Where I come from those kind of people are cheered on by an adoring mob,” Tel said with a sneer. Uka filed that away for later use and continued.

“He had a cottage on that small island adjacent to the town and it’s testimony to the superstitious fears of the locals that the place has been completely untouched since.”  
“That’s nice. So is this chopper guy in the disturbed grave?”  
“No, the crypt is the final resting place of Ezakien Tobyn and Nualia. He and Nualia, his adopted daughter, were lost in the fire that consumed the previous cathedral. The fire occurred at around the same time as the murders and some people say the two are connected. I will not give rise to ridiculous rumours by making this public knowledge.”  
“Huh, so what’s this more-sinister-than-goblins thing you think is afoot?”  
“I suspect the unquiet dead may be to blame, though how they got into the crypt I’m still trying to figure out. Obviously the potential for the idea of others from that time rising from the dead is to be dissuaded.”   
“What does it matter if a few idiots give themselves the jitters?”  
“Because Tel, some of us like to live in peace and quiet and do not need a horde of scared commoners breaking down their door for charms to protect them from the risen dead.”  
“This just sounds like a load of shit.” 

Uka realised that she may have underestimated the stubbornness of Tel. The young man seemed motivated not at all by the prospect of peace and happiness for the population of Sandpoint and Hearth hadn’t come to her rescue as she was hoping. She needed more of a carrot she decided as using stick was likely to have the pair flying off into the night. The town needed them as its own defenders paled in comparison to Tel and Hearth and even if the sheriff returned with thirty men if she was honest she’d trade them for a more co-operative dragon and rider. Carrot is was then. She huffed internally at the lengths she was forced to go to to save these ungrateful people.   
“I’ll trade you healing poultices for your help on the matter.”

“Really?” said Tel, feigning scepticism and trying to hide his interest. If they were able to replicate the effects of Uka’s work on his leg he’d most definitely take some of those.  
“You know that my abilities as a healer are legitimate,” Uka said pointing to his leg. Tel looked to Hearth who, strangely synchronously, looked back. They exchanged a meaningful look and Uka could see them silently weighing the offer.  
“Ok, that sounds fair,” said Tel at length, “when do we leave?”  
“Immediately. You can eat that on the way.” 

They made their way quietly through the town and although the night was only young there were few people out on the streets. Tel was riding atop Hearth and eating his dinner while wondering at Uka’s concern for the people of Sandpoint. There was no doubt in his mind that Uka intended to get involved in any fight that might occur at the crypt and yet she was going to quite extraordinary lengths to not draw attention to the fact that she was saving them all a lot of lost sleep. He wondered how long it had been like this; the grouchy Uka keeping all these fools alive and happy from the shadows. Tel tried it on, the caring attitude, and looked at the face of the next person they passed. He just didn’t care he realised. He didn’t feel any urge to protect or comfort them, much as he imagined that person felt no urge to comfort or protect him. He didn’t feel the need to rob, rape or murder them either and it’s not as though he wanted anything from that person. He wasn’t greedy but he would take what he needed for Hearth or himself by force if needs be; but he wasn’t a marauding bandit. Tel briefly wondered where the pair of them fitted in the dichotomy of good and evil, and then realised he didn’t care.

As they came to the graveyard of Sandpoint Uka strode confidently through the gate and out amongst the lichen crusted tombstones whilst Hearth had to somewhat gingerly tip-toe around the memorial caltrops. The moon was beginning to rise and bathe the scene in its pale radiance. Tel thought the lighting lent the place an almost tranquil atmosphere as he didn’t associate the rows of rocky protrusions with death. The gravestones were of every size and shape and Tel supposed that there must be a reasonably high mortality for the townsfolk as there were what he thought to be a lot of the markers for a town of this size. He felt Hearth come to a stop beneath him and looked to see Uka standing next to a crypt to his left. He dismounted and turned to the witch.  
“So this is the crypt that’s causing so much grief?” Tel asked as he drew his sword. The weight of it felt good in his hand and he clenched and relaxed his left fist in its armoured gauntlet a few times. He felt confident his equipment was up to scratch and was happy to feel Hearth move up close behind him like they’d practiced only a few hours earlier. Risking his life in a fight so voluntarily, in a fight he’d sought out, felt strange and Tel found the sensation troubling. It felt like some sort of dereliction of his duty to keep both Hearth and he safe. The only life he valued more than his own was Hearth’s and a large part of his own desire for self-preservation was that he was worried that Hearth would be slain without him. He took a steadying breath and looked up at the squat stone structure before him.

The crypt was of the same stone as the majority of the other tomb stones in the graveyard and sported the same smattering of lichens with the addition of particularly tenacious ivy eking out an existence up its walls. The door to the crypt was, at first glance, undisturbed but scrutiny revealed a large crack running through one of the stone slabs and fresh scrape marks on the top step.  
“This, Tel, is the final resting place of father Tobyn.”  
“Why’s this idiot got a big fancy box to rot in while most of the rest have only markers?” Tel asked with an irreverent jab at the crypt with his blade.  
“Because, Tel, some people go out of their way to contribute to a society they are a part of and are much loved because of it,” said Uka. She felt the need to defend the idea of community to the person she hoped to sway to its cause.  
“Then he doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’d have wanted this big, fancy box to rot in.”  
“You can probably attribute the box to the misguided gratitude of those he helped.”  
Tel blew a sigh, this felt weird and idiotic and he wanted to be done with this fool’s errand.  
“Time to bail out the town fuckwits from their asinine fears,” he said as he grabbed one of the large iron rings set into the stone and, setting his foot against the top step, pulled.

The stone door offered much less resistance than Tel expected and it had obviously been broken free and simply stood back into place, devoid of any support. The heavy stone slab overbalanced quickly towards him and he nimbly ducked to the side as it crashed onto the steps and broke into rubble. He shrugged in mock apology.  
“Tel, be ready,” Uka warned and not a moment too soon as a quartet of animated human skeletons rushed from the darkness of the interior to attack. Tel leaped back to within the reach of Hearth and Uka froze, perfectly still, and in the darkness verily dissolved into the shadows cast by the moonlight.

Tel watched Uka fade from sight and was again amazed at her abilities. Magic was involved there he was sure, there was no other way to explain the way the shadows seemed to wrap around her like inky tentacles and purposely hide her in their fold. His mind calling a memory back from the goblin raid he remembered the way she had seemed to materialise from the doorway to assail the goblin knight and surmised that this must be other end of that trick; the hide before the big reveal. Without that knowledge he might have felt a wave of resentment at the seeming abandonment. He couldn’t help but feel a little chafed at the role of decoy he and Hearth were playing but he raised his guard and cleared his mind as the skeletons reached strike range.

They came on in a silent rush, clean bone gleaming blue in the cast light and fleshless feet tapping the stone steps. They moved in the line they’d filed out of the crypt in but Tel worried about them fanning out to press their numerical advantage. Briefly he wondered why Hearth hadn’t gone for his usual flaming torrent and then remembered, if not saw, Uka creeping around. His tactical assessment of their situation was complicated by Uka’s presence. Hearth and he didn’t want to get surrounded but having no flame to punish them for bunching up and mobbing them was going to make that difficult. As the first skeleton closed the last few feet he drew one last steadying breath and threw his armoured left arm up to block the leaders overhead chop.

The blow came with surprising force for something that lacked muscle but Tel rolled his arm to the outside and carried the skeleton’s weapon wide. To further his distance from the falling sword he stepped right and, reflexively, stabbed for its armpit. Too late Tel realised that the attack would do nothing and, already committed to the motion, he angled the blade 90 degrees as it struck. The original strike had had the blade horizontal, to slip between ribs, but the rotation to vertical caused it to impact sharply on the creature’s ribcage. Tel wasn’t a particularly strong man and the skeleton was in no danger of being toppled by the impact by Hearth saw his opening in the recovering abomination and shot his head down to attack. His powerful jaws closed around his targets skull and he bit down with more than enough force to shatter the gleaming bone. Hearth quickly retracted his head and began to assess his next victim.

Tel pulled his sword back to ready at his side and brought his armoured gauntlet out in front of him defensively in anticipation of the next onrushing skeleton. Something moved in the corner of his eye though and he risked a quick glance down to the left where the movement was the decapitated skeleton returning its own weapon to a position from which it could strike. The undead monster promptly did just that and chopped horizontally and low at Tel’s thigh. Tel spun to face the blow and put his left fist to his thigh, placing the armour in the way of the strike. The sound of metal on metal and a jarring impact told Tel he’d successfully blocked the strike and he quickly turned back to the second skeleton in the advancing pack. It too was making a swing and Tel thought bitterly that Hearth’s fire, if he would use it, would prevent the skeletons from pressing their numerical advantage. He raised his sword in a block and the foes blade slid down his own before catching on the finger-preserving guard. Usually he’d be in deep trouble in this position as both his arms were occupied and he could spare attention for only one at a time but Hearth had his back and their training session had thus far kept them well in sync. 

Hearth, seemingly offended that a creature should have the audacity to so shrug off his fearsome attacks made a second bite for the decapitated skeleton. This time he took care to take as much of the creature into his mouth as he could, managing to get his incisors all the way down to its pelvis. He closed his mouth gently around the struggling monster and lifted it into the air until his head was back and pointing to the stars. He then began to chomp down and quickly shake his head to reposition his victim before repeating the process. The sound made by the viciously chewing Hearth was horrendous but the tactic was effective and the skeletal limbs quickly stopped their flailing as the whole creature was crunched into myriad pieces. Tel stepped to the side of the bone fragments raining down from Hearth and sent the dragon a thought of gratitude as he jumped back from the second skeleton. He disengaged their blades and both drew them back to ready.

The skeleton made a thrust for Tel’s gut as the third monster joined the fight and chopped horizontally at his neck. Tel whipped his left fist to his ear and threw his head to the side to deflect the incoming swing while making a spirited attempt to parry the incoming sword point with his own blade. Unfortunately his shorter weapon lacked the reach of his opponent’s longsword and the second assailant prevented him from stepping forward to intercept the attack with his lighter and swifter movements. Detecting his plight Hearth quickly threw his leg up to catch the thrusting blade before it could close the distance. Hearth was unwilling to risk an early interception that he might be running short on time to make and instead brought his leg kicking up barely an inch outside Tel’s own parry attempt.

Feeling Hearth shifting above him and reading the dragon’s intention to do something with his front right leg Tel stepped his own right foot back and pulled his sword in close. He trusted Hearth, in this case putting his very guts on the line, to have something clever going on. The stabbing blade was collected by Heath’s shin and carried high; reaching above Tel’s head as it went and losing all momentum. As Tel felt the pressure of the blade sliding up his gauntlet abruptly cease and saw that there was too much momentum left in the swing for another attack to be swiftly made with it. He decided to press the advantage against the third skeleton who had its sword held ineffectually high, still resting against Hearth’s leg. Tel found he already had his arm cocked to strike and so stepped under Hearth’s elbow and punched his left fist out with all he had at the leering skull. His opponent seemed completely surprised by the manoeuvre and the blow shattered its jaw and sent ivory teeth spraying into the silvery glow of the moon. The skeleton recoiled under the blow and Tel quickly retracted his left arm and chopped at the skeletons elbow with his blade, hoping to remove the appendage wielding the dangerous longsword. Although it was a risky move he had no other real way of defeating his opponent as it was otherwise difficult for him to inflict meaningful damage on a creature without flesh or blood with his small blade. He wished he was a burly northman with an axe or a greatsword for an instant until he felt the impact of Hearth stomping the skeleton he’d left at his back when he advanced on his current quarry. No he decided; he’d rather have Hearth than bulging muscles and a giant weapon. Resigning himself to the lightly muscled consequences of his reality he followed through with his chop at the elbow. 

To Tel’s great relief the plan worked perfectly. His blade only chipped the bones on either side of the joint as it passed but the lower half of the arm fell away and, sword in bony hand, fell to the ground and flew to pieces at the impact. The creature stared dumbly at the fragmented limb and Tel decided to try his luck with the same trick to the spine. He grabbed the defenceless creature’s ribcage with his left hand and pushed it roughly backwards to open the gap between ribs and pelvis. He then made a reverse left to right slice with his blade at the intersection of two vertebrae. Tel’s aim was true despite the tiny target, thanks in large part to his grip on the creature’s ribs, and again the trick worked. While inflicting only the most superficial damage to the skeleton itself its entire lower half just fell away and became so many clattering bones on the ground. The monster used its remaining arm to make an attempt to scratch his eyes but he saw it coming and threw his left arm out wide and released his grip. The ribcage and skull, with its one and a half flailing arms, pin-wheeled through the air before striking a nearby tombstone and shattering.

As soon as he released his grip on the torso Tel turned back to Hearth. The dragon had defeated his target through the crude expedient of crushing it to bits by repeatedly patting it into the ground with his left foot which now rested in a heap of pulverised bone. Tel was filled with pride at the sight. They’d managed to make the fight, admittedly a small one, reading and complimenting each other’s actions, covering each other’s vulnerabilities, blocking any attacks either had failed to counter and not hindering each other. His elation was then snatched away. To his horror Tel noted that the crushed creature’s sword was sticking out of Hearth’s right leg, a thick stream of blood running from the wound down his leg and the blade alike. It didn’t look life threatening and Tel had counted four skeletons charging from the crypt.

He whirled around, weapon at the ready, but there was no skeleton poised to attack. His gaze roamed back up the stairs and noticed a neatly dismembered and decapitated skeleton lying on the ground to one side. Uka stepped out of the shadows and over the inanimate pile of bones before giving a short nod. Satisfied that Uka had defeated the fourth skeleton he’d seen, and taking her nod to indicate that she felt in control of the situation on the stairs, he turned back to Hearth.   
“Hearth, your leg,” Tel said plaintively to his friend, “let me see.”   
Hearth proffered the limb stoically and sniffed at the protruding sword. The sword was lodged at the intersection of three scales and a trail of rust over one of the three betrayed the cause of the injury. The point had struck one scale and, lacking the power to penetrate the scale itself, had slid across its surface and into the seam. Tel grasped the blade and took care not to disturb it as he did so.  
“Hearth I’m so sorry but this is going to have to come out.”   
Hearth nodded and clenched his jaw. Tel steeled himself too, for he was distinctly against causing his friend pain, and decided that a quick pull would likely have the blade free. He firmed his grip and gave Hearth a reassuring look. They exchanged one last pair of nods and Tel pulled with all his might. 

The sword came free easily and Tel had to catch himself before he overbalanced. He looked at the wound and noticed that although it was bleeding that was probably a good thing. It was a neat wound and hopefully the blood flow, which was hardly fatal to a creature of hearth’s stature, would flush any pieces of rust or dirt from the wound. That was one of the problems with having scales he decided; it made it a bit of a nuisance to clean wounds without removing them. Still, he would keep a close eye on it and consult Uka at the first sign of complication. He turned back to Hearth.   
“You feeling alright my friend?” he asked earnestly.   
He knew exactly the response he would get, but he asked anyway and from a genuine desire to check in on the dragon. Hearth gave only his usual emphatic huff, seemingly offended that any such injury should be of concern to one such as him. He defiantly placed his wounded leg firmly on the ground and moved off to investigate the crypt with Uka. Tel smiled after him before breaking into a jog to catch up with Hearth’s long strides.

“You know you baby him far too much,” said Uka from the entrance to the crypt.  
“Hearth is my friend, I will take no chances with his health where they can be avoided,” Tel replied as he hopped up the last few steps.  
“Tel, that wound, to Hearth, is no more than a pin prick to you or I.”   
“Let’s just get on with this idiot venture,” Tel replied with his tone making it clear he was done with being berated. Uka realised that she might have stepped a bit far there but she was only probing Tel’s boundaries. She had anticipated as much and played her next card.  
“Though removing the blade yourself was a good move. He might have opened the wound further had he tried to scratch or bite it out himself,” she said with an approving nod.  
“Good to know,” said Tel and his expression softened. He was genuinely glad to hear that in her expert opinion he had done the right thing for Hearth’s wellbeing. 

Uka inwardly smiled. For all his mysterious dragon-riding-stranger air Tel was not so hard to read and Uka was slowly beginning to confirm the effective strategies for working with the young man. Reading people was what Uka did and she found that you could help a lot of people help themselves with the right, and subtle, manipulations. You might not be able to force a horse to drink the water you lead it to, but the old saying mentioned nothing of tricking or manipulating the beast into doing so. She looked up towards the crypt, her mysterious eyesight easily piercing the gloom. She smiled again; she also knew the thoughts of the town as a whole and patted herself on the back for her work here. She’d tell them it was nothing but a few goblins and the townsfolk would all sleep soundly in their beds. At least until Mayor Deverin decided to go public with the full scale of the goblin threat. The raid had rattled the populace’s cage and the extra guards were going to perform the dual duty of reassuring people and defending against a possible invasion and here was she, fixing another compounding problem before it even started. She should write a book on this or get a pay rise she thought to herself as she heard Tel and Hearth reach her side. 

Tel looked in through the crypts ruined doorway and into the opaque gloom within.   
“Well, it’s too dark in there for my eyes, we’ll need to fetch a torch,” he said to the darkness.   
As if in response to his words light suddenly illuminated the scene from somewhere slightly above him. He turned to see Uka tapping the brim of her pointed felt hat and noticed that the top of it was shining brightly.  
“That’s a useful trick,” he tried to say sarcastically but he wasn’t sure he managed to keep all the envy out of his voice.  
“Indubitably,” Uka simply responded before primly gathering her dress and striding officiously through the doorway. As the point of Uka’s hat illuminated the interior Tel saw nothing out of the ordinary or immediately threatening at first and so he advanced in after the witch cautiously. Although Hearth couldn’t fit his shoulders through the door his inquisitive head advanced as far into the room as his neck would allow and Tel drew a lot of comfort from his friend’s presence. Looking around and giving the crypt a closer look over Tel noticed something that seemed quite out of place. In the corner was a robe and although dirty and frayed it did not look at all like it had spent 5 years in here on the slightly damp stone.  
“So, do people come here often and drop their clothes?” he asked as he moved over to pick the robe up, “I think you might have a necromancer who really loves the dead on your hands.”  
“Tel, that’s disgusting. And no, I do not believe that is the case. Look at this, there are scrape marks on Father Tobyn’s tomb.”  
“I ‘spose my next question is where’d all the dead guys come from, and do you people usually bury your dead with swords?” 

Uka ran through the complex series of syllables and gestures required to open her mage sight and looked over the scene. The first thing she noticed was the large amount of magical glare coming off Hearth, the dragon radiated the magic of its heritage like a roaring inferno, and it took her eyes a moment to adjust. Fascinatingly the magic Hearth radiated seemed to stick to Tel as though the man was a relay for the dragon’s power; indeed Tel glowed almost as brightly as did Hearth and he seemed to glow with precisely the same signature as the dragon. Briefly she wondered what kind of effects continual exposure to the kind of energy would have on the young man. How very interesting she thought to herself before reigning in her curiosity. There would be plenty of time to examine that pair later she assured herself as she turned her attention to the robe Tel held before him; though a part of her still wondered about them leaving one night and snatching away an interesting piece of knowledge. 

The robe was, as she suspected, a magic item. Though its magic had been consumed when it had been used to summon the waiting skeletons it still had a faint purplish-black aura of necromancy about it.   
“Tel, those skeletons were left here by the wearer of that robe as, I believe, a diversion. That is a robe of bones and once held the power to magically create, arm and animate skeletons.”  
“That sounds like a useful thing to own,” Tel mused, much to Uka’s annoyance, “But what do you believe it was to divert us from?”   
Uka turned meaningfully to the small stone plate in the wall covering the tomb that held Father Tobyn’s remains. She slithered her hair into the gaps around the stone and gently pulled it free and as it came it revealed nothing but bare stone.  
“Divert us from that, Tel,” she said sombrely.  
“The hell would anyone want to steal some worthless old priest’s bones? He wasn’t a saint or anything was he?”  
“No, he wasn’t.”  
“Well, maybe the grave robber was after Nualia’s bones instead?” Tel said, looking to the adjoining stone covering set in the wall, “Maybe the necromancer wanted to raise himself a lover?”   
“Tel, I doubt that, her remains were never recovered. It was a very intense blaze,” Uka said as levelly as she could. Tel’s irreverence towards this matter was very out of the ordinary and she made a note to ask Ameiko about what she knew of the man. He certainly wasn’t brought up anywhere near civilised society. Though all the same she had to admit she didn’t have a better theory for the tomb robbing.

This was a puzzle Uka thought as she stared into the empty hole in the wall. Who would want to steal the old man’s bones, and why? It was obviously a targeted theft, nothing else was touched and the presence of the skeletons and replacement of the stone tomb cover was a very real effort to hide the crime. Also, the timing of the crime was suspiciously close to that of the goblin raid and now that she thought about it the goblins had come from this direction. Though what interest would the goblins have in old bones? And it was decidedly out of character for a goblin burglary to be this well planned and executed. Further thought jogged a memory of Shalelu mentioning something about her suspicions that the goblins were being organised. But who would organise the goblins to raid Sandpoint to cover a tomb robbing that was itself very well covered. This was a lot of work for the theft of some old bones Uka decided and although she wasn’t the town’s primary defender, that was the sheriff’s job, she fancied herself its quiet guardian. This warranted further thought and investigation.

Tel was starting to wonder what was up with Uka as she’d been staring into the empty crypt for a while now. At first he’d put it down to her conducting magical investigations he wasn’t privy to. But it was starting to get boring just standing there. Abruptly she spun on her heel.  
“Tel, can Hearth eat those bones?”  
“I imagine so, why?” Tel asked suspiciously.  
“Good, ask him to remove them and I’ll dispose of the skeleton’s weapons. Speak of this to no one. The town can remain blissfully unaware of the goings on tonight. I shall inform them that the sounds were a pair of animals that got in and that I have evicted them and that time was responsible for the door hole. I have even more reason to suspect that something more sinister than goblins is afoot now but I require further time for deliberation to cajole the pieces of this puzzle into a picture.”  
“That sounds ominous,” said Tel and he looked to Hearth for a lead. Uka didn’t miss the look that crossed Tel’s features; the man was more skittish than a field mouse. Still, Uka needed to press for his help. Her list of reliable allies was short. Ameiko she knew she could trust, and the innkeeper was handy with a sword courtesy of her short adventuring career, and Shalelu was an experienced ranger and would come to the towns defence on Uka’s word she was sure. Both were reliable, capable, motivated by the plight of the town and could keep their mouths shut- which made them two of a kind in the town. She needed more.  
“Indeed it does seem so. Tel, I intend to make good on our deal for your help tonight but I feel much more of your help may be needed in the near future. If you’re at all interested in helping, even only curious about the mystery here, come with me back to the Rusty Dragon later tonight where we can discuss the next move.”

Tel didn’t answer Uka he just met her gaze and then turned back to Hearth. The dragon gave Tel a deferential look in return and it added a weight to the man’s actions as he began to pick up the scattered bones. Tel wondered what the hell he was thinking as the thoughts crossed his mind; thoughts he hadn’t had in years. He had to admit to himself that being constantly on edge and in survival mode was incredibly tiresome and, if he was honest, a little stifling. A life centred solely on keeping Hearth and him alive and free had stopped them from living that life and enjoying that freedom. They were a long way from Cheliax and it was unlikely that word of their presence had reached this far. It was likely that even when word did reach his home that it would be a while before anyone put together who the rumours were about. A part of him, he had to admit, was curious to know what exactly was going on here. A much bigger part of him liked seeing Hearth well fed and their little hay shed had become something either of them hadn’t had in a very, very long time- a home. 

He felt so guilty thinking those things and the usual argument of ‘what would happen to Hearth if you indulged your weakness’ was rolled out. If it was only him he’d be prepared to chance it, to fully live his life at the risk of losing it, but he was not prepared to do that with Hearth. He loved the dragon more than living life and freedom combined. He was broken from his internal debate by a gentle nosing from Hearth who was growing concerned at the delay in the next bone of evidence to dispose of. He sat his great head gently on Tel’s shoulder and let out a deeply soothing drone. Tel could feel the sound just as much as hear it and he felt it chase away the rapidly building stress and anxiety that dogged the heels of that train of thought.   
“I’m sorry Hearth, I did not mean to trouble you,” Tel said, turning to face his friend. Hearth gently nosed the corner of Tel’s mouth and with a gentle pressure lifted it. Tel couldn’t help but continue the prompted smile.  
“Hearth, I don’t have the words for how good you are to me. Nor what you mean to me,” Tel said softly in apology, worried that his friend had read his mind and fretted over his selfish thoughts. He took Hearth’s muzzle in his hands and silently reassured him that he would never risk his safety for self-indulgence. Again Tel felt the guilt burn to give rise to the smoke of his stress and anxiety and again Hearth gave a soothing drone to extinguish it. 

Uka looked on in interest. She had seen this scene before. Usually it was between young lovers. They would love each after a fashion but one would want to do something that the other could or would not do. The denied party’s response would of course depend on their degree of dedication to the partner. The usual outcome was that the couple would be split up and each would go on to pursue their own goals. Occasionally, for one reason or another, the denied member would stay but harbour a building resentment towards the other which would eventually destroy the relationship anyway. The rarest however was the case in which the denied party cared more about their partner than they did about whatever it was they were denied. In such a case the relationship would continue happily, with the denied half occasionally feeling guilty for entertaining thoughts of that which they did without. The case of Tel and Hearth was definitely the latter she decided though there was an additional barrier for this pair. Hearth couldn’t speak. Uka had a fairly good idea what it was that Tel was feeling guilty about; he obviously had taken it upon himself to be the brains of the operation and shouldered the responsibility for preventing them falling back into the clutches of their old masters. 

This responsibility he evidently took incredibly seriously and judging by the lines on his face he was finding it taxing. Uka also surmised that it was likely his presence here in town was massively compounding his stress. That as a foolish piece of self-flagellation he had convinced himself that his stay in town was him feeding that denied want at Hearth’s expense. She shook her head. Tel, the idiot, seemed to forget that it had been Hearth’s decision to stay. It had been Hearth who wanted to come to the town’s aid and it had seemed to have been Hearth that kept Tel here. She wondered how many times in the past Hearth had tried to settle his friend down. The dragon was clearly deeply concerned for the man and seemed to be becoming increasingly so. She had seen this before too she mused. The idea of total selfless on one half of a relationship often left that half burned out. People would try to keep it up and often, when they truly loved the other, their love could literally drive them into the grave. Sadly, despite such good intentions, it was doomed to failure. For in a relationship worth having both parties want the best for the other and a burned out wreck of a person, no matter how selfless, does not have much to offer the relationship besides ash. As for the focus of the selflessness, what that person wants is for the other to relax, be happy, enjoy themselves and, through their nurture, be the best that they can be. Sometimes a little selfishness is the most selfless gift you can give someone.

Hearth just wants you to be happy so that the two of you can enjoy your life together Tel, you idiot, Uka thought to herself as she watched the scene unfold. Her patience for avoidable stupidity was short at the best of times and at this time she had even less. Additionally she wanted those two on her team and they wouldn’t do her much good if all they were doing was self-destructing and failing to communicate. She would need to lay it all, in uncomfortably enlightening glory, on the table for them if she wanted them to figure it out. However now did not seem like a prudent time to bring the matter to a head. When she did that she would need the pair of them to be in a good mood, or at least not in a bad one. Now that she thought of it any edge she could get she would need and the afterglow of a positive experience, or simply a bit of alcohol, would add a welcome weight to her words. She’d have to do it soon however and she resolved that at the next combination of opportunity and favourable conditions she would make her move.

Returning her focus to the scene in front of her Uka noticed that when Hearth began that melodic drone Tel relaxed visibly. The man took a moment to compose himself enough to pull away from the dragon’s snout the pair exchanged a meaningful look. Hearth gave an odd lilting warble and a small nod which Tel returned.   
“Uka,” Tel began, looking to Hearth for reassurance.   
He seemed to get what he was looking for in Hearth’s returned gaze and continued.  
“We’ll attend this meeting you have planned at the inn tonight and hear what you think we ought to do. Though I can’t promise we’ll join you in your ventures,” Tel quickly added when he noticed Uka’s grin.  
“That you hear me out will be sufficient,” Uka said as she began the walk back to the Rusty Dragon. As soon as she’d put her back to Tel and Hearth she allowed a broad smile to cross her face. 

Tel watched her get swallowed into the shadows with supernatural swiftness and reached out to Hearth. He felt the smooth scales and supernatural warmth of his leg and drew a great amount of strength from it. If Hearth wanted to attend this meeting then he would be there too. Hearth deserved his support in this strange project as the dragon certainly gave more than he got.  
“Well Hearth, I suppose we’d better get on her trail,” he said and Hearth lowered his head for Tel to mount up. The two began the return tip-toe through the graveyard with the moon beginning in earnest its climb across the night sky. He found himself strangely absent of thought as they crossed the wall marking the end of the tombstones.

Uka was pleased to see the pair following so soon after her. Her hope was somewhat dampened however by the fact that she did not really have the luxury of time. She needed those two to be ready and motivated to act in the towns defence and she knew that currently there wasn’t really anything she could bribe them with to put themselves at serious risk on anyone’s behalf other than their own. They valued only each other. Indeed Tel had clearly chafed at getting into a fight over anything other than self preservation as evidenced by his surly demeanour. That posed a problem. By the time they’d decided that they could lend a hand the town would likely be a smoking ruin. She considered her options. Alcohol was the first thing that sprung to her mind as Tel had shown quite an affinity for the stuff on the night of the raid. He’d happily drunk down the bottle that had been offered to him and it had seemed to have a decidedly loosening effect. She dismissed the idea. While it would likely improve his pliability in the short term the effects of the stuff were obvious and decisions made under its influence were an easy target for regret and resentment if he felt he’d been manipulated through its use. Briefly she considered other substances she might use to achieve the same effect rather more subtly as she knew several herbs that could improve the disposition of someone as obstinate as Tel. Then the answer poked its head out of the general store as she passed.

Uka watched Shayliss Vinder, an attractive young lady, cast a searching glance down the street after her. At first she wondered what it might be that she was looking at and then she remembered who was following her to the inn. He mind was awash with possibilities and she needed more time to assess the situation. It might be nothing or it might be an opportunity she could not afford to miss. So she took one sidestep into the shadows and disappeared from view. She stopped and turned to watch the situation unfold with her mind running a million miles an hour. 

She watched as Shayliss seemed to spot what she was looking for and stepped back from the doorframe. Uka’s keen eyes, untroubled by the gloom, picked out the look of slight apprehension that crossed Shayliss face and the biting of her lip that followed it. That was all the information she needed. Shayliss was developing something of a poor reputation of late after a couple of indiscretions with the town’s young men. Uka didn’t begrudge the girl the fulfilment of her desires but it was a habit that could leave one’s good name in tatters in a small town like Sandpoint. Her father was far too focussed on the romance between her sister and the boy from the sawmill to arrest Shayliss ventures and it seemed that she had marked her next target. It was a well-known fact that men were often a good deal more malleable after sex and it was equally well known that a lack of the same could produce the opposite effect. Quickly she did some math. Tel had been on the run for over a year now and had shown himself to be unwilling to make any human contact at all over that time. He hadn’t been to the brothel during his stay; of that she was sure as the gossip would have reached her ears by now if he had. She wasn’t sure how Tel would react though, he might turn her away and she’d be back to looking for a likely herbal candidate, but she thought Shayliss comely enough to entice the man.

She considered her options. Although it wasn’t the most noble deed or motive in existence it would probably do very little harm if Tel relaxed himself somewhat in her company. It might help lessen the strain on his stressed mind and no doubt the afterglow would make him much easier to deal with. It was slightly dishonest though she reminded herself; inaction with something to gain was just as wrong as actually doing something with the same motivation. She potentially risked both Shayliss and Tel’s reputation in the town taking a hit. But in this case the ends would have to justify the means she thought as she watched Shalyiss get ready to make her move.

Tel noticed Hearth’s head turn slightly towards a doorway on their right and thought nothing of it. The dragon seemed to be able to detect an awful lot that he couldn’t see and he was used to Hearth randomly looking this way and that, especially in a place as busy as Sandpoint. He trusted his friend to warn him if he detected anything dangerous or interesting so he was surprised and a little on edge when Hearth suddenly stopped, sniffed the air and continued at a slower pace. He looked to see what had given his friend pause and saw a woman approaching them from a nearby doorway. The light from the other side of the door bathed her as she approached and Tel was stuck by her undeniable beauty. She possessed a striking hourglass figure that she moved in a way that drew attention to her ample bust and set her bright red hair flowing behind her. As she neared she turned to face them and the light illuminated her soft, smooth features, full lips, delicate nose and deep green eyes. 

“Hey up there,” the beautiful woman called, “you’re Tel, right? And they tell me this Hearth.”  
Tel had really no idea what the woman could want but decided that there was likely no harm in finding out what.  
“Yes to both,” he said and tried for a smile.  
“I’m Shayliss, it’s a pleasure to meet you two. You’re both heroes to the town you know, strong warriors who helped defeat the goblin raid,” she said in a tone of voice that spoke to parts of Tel’s mind in a very different language.  
“So everyone tells me,” he replied, trying to keep the uncertain edge out of his voice.   
“Given how capable you’ve proven yourselves I was hoping you could help me with a little problem I’m having with rats in the basement, why just today I saw one down there the size of a goblin.”  
Ah, there it is, thought Tel, the thing you want. He was beginning to understand why Uka had her policy of grouchy and abrasive interaction with the townsfolk as if you show you’re willing to help for an inch, they’ll ask you to help for a mile. In lieu of reply from the pair Hearth lowered his head to the woman slowly, in the least threatening manner he could, and drew in a long sniff.   
“I’m sorry Hearth, but you wouldn’t fit in the shop. Perhaps he could wait outside while you came in?” she said to the now much closer Tel, trying to hide the slightly unnerved feeling she got under Hearth’s close scrutiny. Tel, for his part, found himself sceptical and although he was undeniably attracted to the woman he wasn’t prepared to become the town trouble shooter. But before he could say as much Hearth gave a nod and rolled his head for Tel to dismount. 

Caught off guard at the turn of events Tel dropped to the ground and looked up at Hearth with a questioning expression. Hearth gave an emphatic nod. Tel didn’t really understand what value Hearth saw in this venture but, in light of their recent conversation, if his friend thought it would be for the best he owed that much at least. He turned to the woman whose expression of satisfaction he couldn’t quite explain.  
“Ok then, sure, show me where the rats are Shayliss and I’ll see what I can do,” said Tel in what he hoped was a helpful tone as Hearth plopped himself down to sleep up against the shop’s front. Shayliss led the way with a coy smile, a swish of her hips and a flick of her hair and Tel found his mutinous mind increasingly difficult to keep on task.

“It’s just down here,” she said as she led them through a crowded store. Every small, common object that Tel could envisage had a home on these packed shelves. After only a short walk through the winding aisles they came to a low doorway which Shayliss opened but did not enter.  
“The rats are down there,” said the woman pointing an accusatory finger at the gloom shrouding the staircase down to the basement. She pulled a candle and holder out of its mount on the wall nearby and handed it to Tel.   
“Thanks,” was all he managed as he turned to face the descending stairs. He couldn’t tell if she was doing it on purpose or not but every one of her movements seemed to draw the eye to somewhere it was generally considered impolite to stare. He tried in vain to wrangle his mind away from Shayliss’ curves and back to the task at hand as he stepped onto the first step. By the time he’d reached the bottom step he’d given up on halting his minds lewd parade of possibilities and tried to ignore it as he looked around for the rats. 

Rats could be quite aggressive he knew and a rat of the size Shayliss had described, even accounting for a bit of exaggeration, could cause painful injuries if not death. His wary eye passed this way and that over the neatly stacked boxes of goods and it struck him as odd that a place this well-kept should have a rat problem. There was no evidence of droppings, no foul smell and a lack of any nesting materials strewn about the place. His gaze then fell over a small bed tucked up against the back wall and half hidden behind stacked crates. What a strange place to sleep, especially given the presence of rats, he thought as he advanced further into the neatly packed room to continue his search. He heard Shayliss moving down the stairs behind him and pointedly continued his search while pretending to not hear her coming in an attempt to deny his imagination further ammunition. 

Suddenly something dropped onto his shoulder and he spun to the side and looked back to where he had been standing. There, naked to the waist, stood Shayliss.   
“My, you’re tightly wound,” she said as she moved with open arms on the stunned Tel. “Perhaps I can help you with that?”  
Tel was too busy trying to figure out if he was hallucinating or not to resist the advancing woman even if he had wanted to. Parts of his mind that he’d long neglected began to very forcefully demand the fulfilment of his earlier fantasies and when she wrapped her arms around his waist he found he didn’t mind at all. Other parts of his mind were busily trying to remind him that there were rats he was supposed to be killing.  
“The rats?” he asked feebly.  
“A little white lie to get us to this point,” she whispered as she leaned in close. Tel badly wanted to indulge his desires to a degree that only abstinence could produce. Still, his mind was not completely without sense or feelings of responsibility.   
“Hearth-” he began.  
“Wanted you to follow me down here,” she said cutting him off. She left her lips only a fingers breadth from his. He could feel the warmth of her breath on his chin and the moisture in it as he drew his own. Her green eyes danced in the flickering light of the candle and now that he thought about it Hearth had been rather keen on this idea. Tel doubted his friend would care exactly what he did for, or to, Shayliss down here. Hearth would call if he needed anything and it wouldn’t be the first time the dragon had taken watch. Besides, Tel couldn’t quite kick the nagging thought that the ever perceptive Hearth had known Shayliss true motive all along.

Just as he decided that Hearth wouldn’t mind and there’d be no harm in it, or more worryingly that he’d encouraged it, he felt her pull him closer. She ran a hand up his back, up his neck and threaded her fingers into his hair before pulling him into a kiss. Finally content to commit to whatever the immediate future held he kissed her back passionately. Part of him was suddenly self-conscious, it had been years since his last kiss and he wondered how he rated to her. The rest of him didn’t care and soon smothered his insecurities. It felt good and she hadn’t stopped yet. He reached out and placed the candle on a nearby crate, its none-too-gentle placement guided by memory alone before he returned her embrace. 

She began a gentle pressure forward with her body, pressing it up against his, and took a small step forward to continue her push. Tel gave way slowly and was not surprised when he felt the backs of his legs bump up against the bedframe. He sat down on its edge and broke off their embrace as he did so, running his hands down her flanks as he went. His thumbs came to rest on the waistband of her skirts and his nimble fingers had little trouble pulling out the knot that held them up. The loosened skirts needed scant encouragement to drop to the ground. Conversely, Tel felt his pants becoming awfully tight awfully quickly.

His eyes followed her skirts as they fell and he shifted his gaze from the crumpled heap up her smooth, shapely legs. His eyes lingered over her crotch, his libido well remembering the pleasures it promised, before roaming up to her navel and on to her breasts. Movement at the top of his vision grabbed his attention and when he looked up Shayliss was looking right back with a pleased smile.  
“You like what you see?” she asked, biting her lip suggestively.  
“Very much,” he replied, returning her smile.  
“Fairs fair,” she said with a sly wink as she reached for his shirt. He held up his arms as it was pulled over his head. Before he could regain his bearings he felt her soft hands run from his shoulders, over his chest and down his abs, tracing the lines of his body as they went. Her fingers left a sensation of tingling bliss in their wake and he was disappointed when he felt them leave his skin at his waist. A moment later he felt her fingers grip his own crotch as firmly as his eyes had held hers. Shayliss gave an approving ‘mmmm’ as she fondled what she’d found to her satisfaction. She wasted no time in unwrapping the rest of her prize.

Out on the street Uka was enjoying a fantasy of her own. The one in which Tel emerged from his late night dalliance in a positively malleable mood and took her explanation of Hearth’s true intentions to heart before pledging his allegiance to the town. Hearth had proven to be an ace in the hole yet again and she briefly wondered again just how much of the situation the dragon understood. Did Hearth understand her manipulations and where she was trying to lead the man? It was unlikely she thought. What was more likely was that Hearth detected a good source of stress relief for his friend and prodded him to make good use of it. She thought she’d better get moving, it had been long enough without Tel walking back out that door that she was confident that things were taking their course and that no help was needed on her part, indeed Hearth had taken care of that for her. For that she was thankful and she turned her gaze from the door Tel and Shayliss had disappeared through to the dragon feigning sleep next to it. It seemed the fretting over one another was mutual.

Uka’s attention was drawn away from the not quite dozing dragon by the person she least wanted to see right at this moment. Ven Vinder, Shayliss father, was walking down the alley adjoining his shop. His slightly staggered gait gave away where he was returning home from and Uka wondered at what time he must have started, or how hard he had been going, to be heading home drunk already. She knew exactly what inaction would bring in this case. Ven would hear noises down stairs and investigate whereupon finding his daughter being ‘ravished by a thug’ he’d go in fists first. Ven was a burly man and she knew that Tel would defend himself with lethal force against anything he thought might do him any harm. That’s if Hearth didn’t kill him first. Uka was under no illusions as to what Hearth would do to someone if they attacked Tel with as much as a toothpick. Then they’d be branded outlaws and vanish while probably killing the remaining militia if they tried to bring them in. That wasn’t going to happen on her watch as she had far too many of her bets down already. She admired the man for attempting to defend his daughter from a self-inflicted character assassination but she needed Shayliss services. 

Thankfully Ven was drunk and would likely not question it in the morning if he couldn’t remember the exact chain of events between his current position and his bed. She trusted the shadows gathered around her to keep her hidden as she quietly began to chant a spell. Despite staring right into the shadows in which she hid Ven was completely oblivious to her presence. He didn’t even feel the magic wash over him as his mind was hurled into the realm of sleep. Suddenly unconscious he stumbled and collapsed forward towards the cobbles. He never hit them however as a dozen tendrils of hair shot out of the darkness to catch him as he fell before they drew him into the inky blot of darkness where Uka stood. Holding the sleeping man on a carpet of hair Uka stepped forward, the knot of shadows slithering after as she moved through the gloom. Only the eyes of Hearth could see her as she moved under her cloak of shadows, the great orbs almost glowing softly as they tracked her movement through slitted eyelids. She carried the man into his shop and closed the door behind her. 

Judging by the racket she could hear down stairs a lot of stress relief was going on and she congratulated herself on the foresight she’d shown in dealing with Ven the way she had. Although it was hardly noble she had managed to avoid what might have been a very serious spanner in the works for her budding plans to defend Sandpoint. She moved quietly through the crowded shop with Ven following on a stretcher of hair behind her. She found his bedroom, laid him on the bed and pulled the covers over him.   
“Sandpoint thanks you for your service,” she said to the unconscious man to satisfy her sense of propriety. Then she made her way quietly out the second storey window, using her hair to lower herself to the ground and to close the shutter behind her. She spared one last look up to the window and readjusted her skirts before giving a sharp nod to herself and walking officiously back towards the Rusty Dragon. Internally she smiled the whole way, she’d pulled off another plan and no one was any the wiser. 

Tel ran his hands up the thighs of the woman sitting on him and savoured the warmth of her smooth skin. His own skin felt cool under its coating of sweat and he could feel the sheets sticking to his back. He just lay there with his eyes closed and basked in the glow of orgasm with other sensations just starting to probe at the edges of his dimmed awareness. He heard Shayliss give an involuntary moan and reluctantly opened his eyes. Light flooded his vision and the world of his five senses shifted back into focus. Looking into her face he saw a visage of ecstasy turn slowly into a playfully malicious grin. She rolled her hips forward and Tel felt a surge of sensation straddling the border of pleasure and pain. Unable to fully hide the ridiculous expression he knew his face must be making he looked up at her but Shayliss just gave a giggle and kept slowly going. Tel found that despite the strange sensation in his manhood he couldn’t help smiling back.  
“You’re a cruel mistress, you know?” he said to the evilly grinning woman and after another chuckle she ceased her assault.  
“Don’t pretend like you didn’t enjoy that, Tel.”   
“I don’t remember saying any such thing,” he said as he gently pushed his thumbs into the crease of her thighs and crotch. Mesmerised by her body and the way the flickering candlelight danced across her curves Tel found his hands roaming up her sides. His fingers slid across her damp skin, its latent heat electric to his touch, his thumbs meeting as he cupped her breasts in his hands. She straightened her back and placed her hands over his own.

“In that case,” she mused, “We should do this again sometime, and again, and again.”  
Tel found himself in firm agreement with the sentiment and he had to admit that she was good, very good. It’d been a long while for him and although he knew old memories often told small lies he couldn’t remember better. Tel also felt something slightly uncomfortable in his chest but he knew it wasn’t the rapidly healing wound there at fault. It was that when he looked up into her face he realised that he felt nothing for her. He didn’t care why she’d done this, or what would become of her afterwards. If he was honest he didn’t even remember her name. He realised he should feel something, but the thought of something more he just couldn’t get his head around. The idea of something regular between two people, shallow as this instance was, was alien to the scarred psyche of Tel. But there was a potential for closeness that came from prolonged exposure he knew and the idea of as much made his skin crawl. Though the thought of doing this, specifically, again didn’t bother him at all. Sex was fine, just so long as she didn’t want anything more. Internally he laughed at himself, a lot of people in the world didn’t care about their intimate partners but he was actively repelled by the thought of it growing into anything more. But the introspection Tel found himself so prone to was soon washed away by the lingering waves of bliss and other, more carnal, thoughts.

“What’s the matter dragon-rider? Surprised that something other than those giant black wings could carry you that high?” Shayliss asked with a confident smirk.   
“Nothing,” he lied with a smile. He obviously hadn’t hidden his thoughts as well as he might have liked but if he was honest, he didn’t care. He was far keener to do this again than he was to indulge his internal monologue.   
“Does this make me a dragon-rider rider?” she asked with a tone slightly too genuine and Tel burst out laughing.  
“I suppose it does,” Tel replied, unable to wipe the grin off his face, “though I really need to get going. Not many rat infestations take this long to deal with.”   
Tel pulled himself up on his elbows and once Shayliss had pulled herself off him he swung his legs out of the cot to sit on its edge. He drew in a slow breath though his nose and drank deeply the musky scent the permeated the air and clung to their bodies. Tel closed his eyes and smiled as he blew it out. He took one last moment to enjoy the high that pumped through his veins before setting about getting dressed. He pulled on his pants and boots but stole a glance at Shayliss before reaching for his tunic. Hoping to catch one last look at her body his gaze lingered over her reclining form on the bed behind him as it tried to commit her to memory. She gave the same cocky smile at his attentions and he shot her one of his own before he dragged his eyes away. He pulled his tunic on over his head and moved for the stairs. Just as he reached the bottom step he heard Shayliss behind him.  
“Maybe the rats will come back in the future.”   
“Maybe I’ll be around to help you with that.”  
Tel didn’t look back as he jogged up the stairs, though the shop and out to the waiting Hearth.

Shalyiss watched him go. Like a fleeing dream his body was stolen from her sight, then his footsteps from her ears and in her mind he soared away on pinions of midnight to chase the moon. Reality dragged her wandering mind back to the prickling on her skin. She was starting to feel slightly cool as the sweat began to dry from her body without the heat of Tel or the motion to keep her warm. She felt him running out of her and down her leg and decided that another round of that would be something she’d be happy for. Reflecting on their encounter with a smile she had to admit she enjoyed herself. He wasn’t the best she’d ever had but then with the amount of practice that the better ones had had they’d want to have picked up something. There was, however, something fun about him. He seemed to just want to escape into the moment, to lose himself in the pleasurable fog of what was happening right now, and was unconcerned with the rules or expectations of such things. Besides, he was a quick learner and she was sure she could teach him plenty. The rats would come back in the future.

Hearth was lying exactly where Tel had left him and the man wasted no time in jogging over to the reclining dragon.   
“Sorry about the wait my friend, I got a little side tracked down there,” Tel offered by way of apology. Hearth gave him a happy warble of greeting and pulled himself to his feet before lowering his head for Tel to climb aboard.   
“We’d better hurry back to the Rusty Dragon, Hearth. I imagine they’re all waiting for us at Uka’s meeting,” said Tel as he gave the dragon a playful rub on the forehead. Needing no encouragement Hearth immediately set off at a steady plod down the hill towards the inn.   
“Hearth, so, in a weird twist of fate, it turns out there were actually no rats in that basement,” said Tel to no one in particular. To his surprise Hearth gave a toss of his head and a barrage of his laughing croaks.   
“Well, of all the things you’ve gotten us into over the last few days I have to say that that was much better than the usual melee. As far as rigorous physical activities that I’ve undertaken tonight go, that was by far my favourite.”

The pair soon rounded the corner into the stable courtyard. Tel dismounted, gave his friend a pet of thanks, and made for the back door while Hearth settled himself down to wait on the cobbles. Tel opened the back door and, seeing no one about in the kitchen, made his way out into the common room. There he saw Uka, Ameiko and Shalelu alone and sitting around a table drinking. Ameiko was laughing at something Uka clearly didn’t see as a joke and Shalelu was trying to keep a straight face. Tel noticed Uka look at him with a decided expression of relief as he walked over to the table.  
“Now that Tel and Hearth are back we can discuss what I called you all here for tonight,” said Uka matter-of-factly, casting a withering glare at Ameiko whose face was still split by a smile.  
“Evening Tel, you want a drink?” asked Ameiko with a grin.  
Tel’s usually paranoid mind immediately went to refuse but found it hard to gain traction in his still pleasantly foggy mind. He had to admit that even though his mind was enjoying the glow his earlier escapades had brought it also, after the night of the raid, well remembered the added relief that alcohol could bring.   
“Sure Ameiko, if you’re offering,” he said, just to spite his usual train of thought   
“That’s the spirit,” said Ameiko boisterously and she poured him a glass of something that smelled like it could peel paint.

Uka kept her face impassive as she watched the scene. As she’d predicted Ameiko and Shalelu had taken no convincing to get on board with her desire to defend Sandpoint and it was gratifying to see them enjoying each other’s company. She had to admit that she genuinely liked the mismatched pair. Ameiko’s ready laugh and easy going demeanour were at odds with the reserved Shalelu but in spite of their differences the two held a very deep friendship. But her real victory here was Tel. The young man was, although still putting Shalelu to shame in the reserved department, at least making some move to be included in the occasion. Her plan had worked exactly how she had predicted it would and the services of Shayliss Vinder had produced admirable results. She was further heartened to see him accepting the harsh drink that Ameiko was plying him with as it was another weight in her favour on the balance. She noticed Tel cast a glance over his shoulder towards the back of the inn, to where she knew he would have left Hearth, and an idea formed in her sharp mind. Here was a chance to further tip the scales in her favour.

“As it would be most improper to hold this meeting without all the invitees present I suggest we move somewhere where all can be comfortable, or at least fit,” said Uka as she stood up from the table.  
She was met with puzzled looks from Ameiko and Shalelu but the cautious beginnings of a disbelieving smile from Tel.  
Uka watched with interest as the expressions of puzzlement on Ameiko and Shalelus faces slowly showed the dawning of recognition.  
"You mean hearth, don't you?" Asked Ameiko.  
"Of course that's who I mean, no one else would have trouble fitting into this room. He's demonstrated numerous times that he has quite a deep understanding of what's transpiring around him and it's clear that he's a big part of the decision making process for Tel," said Uka as she turned her gaze on the man.  
"He's my friend, we make decisions together," Tel replied cooly but he couldn't hide the smile on his face. The idea of Hearth being treated with some small part of the respect Tel knew he was due was more than he could have hoped for from these people.   
"Precisely why he should be present. Now, if there's no objections I suggest we each grab a stool and make our way out to Tel and Hearth's hay shed," Uka said as she rose from her seat and picked it up with her hair.  
"Well, I've got no objections," said Ameiko as she followed suit and soon the four of them, all with stools bar Tel with the liquor bottle, were making their way through the kitchen and out to the hay shed.

As they all spilled out onto the courtyard cobbles Hearth watched them file past from where he lay, waiting for Tel, just to the side of the door.   
"We have guests for the evening my friend," said Tel as he greeted the dragon with a rub on the nose. Seemingly happy with the idea Hearth rose to follow them and soon all five were crammed into and around the hay shed. Hearth was curled up at the back of the shed with Tel in his usual spot on his foreleg and the others were seated in a row facing them.  
"Now that we're all comfortable," said Uka with a small smile at the lounging Tel, "I'll tell you what this is all about. I have reason to believe that the goblin raid was merely a cover for the theft of the remains of Father Tobyn. I was asked by Zantus to investigate suspicious noises from Tobyn's crypt and upon opening it, with Tel's assistance, I found animated skeletons within but no sign of Tobyn's body. It was assumed to be goblins in the crypt, but I will tell everyone it was merely animals so as not to cause a panic. I'm sure you're all aware that knowledge of this getting out might lead to rampant speculation about other prominent figures from that time returning as the restless dead."  
"I can see why you want to keep the undead a secret," admitted Shalelu, "but what about the goblin raid? Goblins don't raid towns to steal old corpses."  
"That's exactly my point Shalelu. You were saying that there was likely a big boss somewhere behind the goblins, well, I believe it is this mystery figure which organised the raid as a cover for the theft. Though as to what ends I could not say," said Uka.  
"This has the makings of an excellent tale about it," said Ameiko, eyes bright, "it's quite the mystery. Can you actually rule out the possibility that it is old chopper, back from the dead?"  
"No, I cannot. Which is why I'm keen to eliminate that as a possibility as soon as possible," Uka said.  
"How do you intend to rule him out?" Asked Shalelu.  
"Tomorrow morning, Tel and Hearth, assuming they're happy to lend their hand to our effort, would come with me to investigate Choppers Isle for any signs of activity. Assuming we find nothing, which I both expect and hope to, we can pursue further my other idea," said Uka as she looked expectantly over at the pair.

Tel considered her words. Hearth had clearly picked up on something about these people that he liked as soon as he'd landed in town on the night of the raid and it had been slowly becoming more apparent to Tel as well. His friend seemed to like it here and what was more he trusted Hearth totally and owed him his support on this project and he would give it gladly. But despite the increasingly apparent admirable qualities of the folk of Sandpoint he found himself unwilling to come to their aid. He had to admit to himself that, really, he didn't care about them. Somehow he had the feeling that Hearth and he would be making a trip out to Chopper's Isle tomorrow though as he turned to look at Hearth's reaction to Uka's request. His friend's massive eyes were filled with enthusiasm as they first came into view but their bright lustre was slowly stolen by sadness as they locked gazes and Hearth read Tel's thoughts. Tel's heart broke. That his inability to care would so dampen Hearth's spirits pained him deeply. Tel knew Hearth only wanted him to be happy, to find a place where he could feel at home, but he knew that he likely never would. He had to keep them free. Nothing else mattered.

He gritted his teeth against the dark train of thought. He certainly wouldn't find happiness like this and, for Hearth if not himself, he would try. He kept saying he'd support Hearth's project and he would. He brought his focus back to the pair of draconic eyes regarding him with a look of almost helpless sympathy and hated his broken self. He tried for a smile and put his hand on Hearth's cheek.  
"Of course Uka. We'll come out to Chopper's Isle with you tomorrow. It won't be until after Hearth has had a bit of a play and a feed though," said Tel. The words felt a bit strange coming out of his mouth but between the company of Shayliss and the fact that Uka had moved their meeting out here he found that they didn't taste as bitter as they might have otherwise. Hearth gave a rolling warble of agreement and gently nudged Tel who gave the nudging snout an affectionate rub before taking a swig of the bottle he'd brought out with him.  
"Those conditions are quite acceptable Tel, thank you," Uka said with a smile.  
"So," Ameiko interjected to try to hide the anticipation on her face at Tel's confirmation of Hearth's firepower display, "assuming you find old Chopper's place all quiet, what's our next move?"  
"If we find, as I expect to, no evidence of Chopper's return it will confirm my suspicion that the goblin raid was a cover for the theft of Tobyn's remains. Which means that the goblins boss wanted them awfully badly. Though I must admit the utility gained from their theft is not evident to me at this point," said Uka.  
"I could do some scouting around thistletop if you'd like? That's the place anyone who'd set themselves up as goblin boss would be," said Shalelu.  
"That would be most helpful, though be careful. We have no idea who this goblin boss might be or what they're capable of," said Uka.  
"If I leave tomorrow I could be back the day after," Shalelu began.  
"What am I supposed to do while all of you are off adventuring?" Ameiko cut in without keeping all the incredulity out of her voice.  
"It would be best for you to remain at the inn so as not to arouse suspicions Ameiko. The rest of us wandering about will not likely seem out of the ordinary but if the proprietor of the best inn in town up and gets involved people might begin to jump to ill advised conclusions," Uka said in her most diplomatic voice.  
Ameiko only gave a resigned sigh.  
"What about the mayor and sheriff's request to guard the town?" Shalelu asked. "Although I stand by my assessment that it'll be a while before they raid in force again we are essentially the sum total of the towns defence at the moment."  
"At least the only ones with any actual experience," Ameiko added.  
"Tel, Hearth and I shall only be on Chopper's Isle and Shalelu, while you're scouting, you'll likely be the first to know of any impending trouble and so can make your way back to both warn us and join in the towns defence," Uka said.  
"Seems like a good plan for the moment, if a little boring on my end," Ameiko said.  
"Once we have eliminated Chopper as a possibility and Shalelu returns from her scouting with further information we will be able to expand our strategy on firmer ground," said Uka.

Tel just listened as the women talked and took another swig from the bottle. He closed his eyes and felt the rise and fall of Hearths's massive chest at his back. He emptied his mind and let the powerful beat of Hearth's heart roll through him. He felt so conflicted. The paranoia and callous reluctance to get into any fight that wasn't for their freedom or lives was at war with the alcohol, sexual release and most of all the fact that Hearth had been included in this meeting. He knew what Hearth wanted, and he knew that he only wanted it because of him. He also knew that his own mental scars were severely hampering Hearth's project and his spirits. Tel hated himself for it. But he had to keep them free and taking advantage of his friends kindliness for his own selfish reasons was repulsive. And so the battle raged on between the selfishness Hearth asked of him and what his selflessness demanded.

"Tel, you going to share that?" Ameiko asked, breaking his introspection.  
He opened his eyes slowly and it took him a moment to follow her gaze to the bottle in his hand.  
"Oh, yeah, sure," he muttered and passed the potent drink to the woman who promptly took a deep draught before offering it to Shalelu. The elf hesitated but eventually relented under Ameiko's wily grin and took a sip.   
"What's on your mind Tel? You seem preoccupied," asked Ameiko when Uka refused the offered bottle.  
"Oh, nothing, I'm just tired."  
"Tel, I've been up to my ears in people for years," Ameiko replied with a knowing smile. She worried that pressing might destroy her hard work but he seemed in an unusually helpful mood.  
Tel's survivor mind demanded he tell her nothing, but the recently empowered brighter parts of his psyche staged a coup.  
"This is just... A bit out of the ordinary for Hearth and I. Everyone sitting around, planning things. Trust in general actually."  
Tel felt Hearth's heart beat slightly faster and he saw the knowing smile on Ameiko's face widen into something more genuine while Uka remained impassive and Shalelu looked lost.  
"Well, if you decide to give us a chance we might just be able to change that for you. Like I said Tel, there's always a spot here for you, both of you," said Ameiko. "Though we might have to get Hearth a bigger shed."  
At the mention of his name Hearth gave a happy coo and Tel forced the darker thoughts from his mind; determined not to ruin his friends happiness.

Uka allowed herself an internal cheer. This was working perfectly. She had watched with bated breath when Ameiko had made the rather forward assertion that Tel was being evasive and was pleasantly surprised when the young man chose to answer the question. Clearly her concession to Hearth and the nights earlier charades had all been worth it and the bottle making its way around the circle wasn't hurting any either. The thing she was most pleased about was the readiness Tel had displayed in agreeing to her plan as earlier this very evening he'd been harder to work with. She didn't want Ameiko to push her work too far though as she suspected that the innkeeper was also aware of the change in Tel's disposition.  
"Indeed he will need more suitable accomodation if he stays long term but that is a conversation for another time. For the present I suggest we all get a good nights rest in anticipation of tomorrow's activities. I'll also give those wounds another look over Tel," Uka said in her usual, authoritative tone.  
"Haha, is it passed my bed time mum?" Ameiko sniped playfully.  
"Come on Ameiko," Shalelu said tiredly, "put the poor woman down. Thank you for sharing what you know with us Uka, and for organising this. I too chafe at the thought that our plan for dealing with the goblin threat was to wait to be overrun."  
"I'm glad we are in accord," replied Uka with a nod.  
Ameiko stood as Shalelu did and the pair gathered their stools and said their good nights before making for the inn.

"Alright Tel, you know the drill," said Uka flatly as she turned to her patient. To her surprise Tel was not moving to conduct their ritual of changing his wounds dressings. Instead he was looking into Hearth's eyes and she just managed to catch the words 'sorry' and 'selfish' in the whispered conversation. Uka huffed inaudibly and quickly considered her position. This was exactly what the pair had been doing at the graveyard earlier this night and is was just as counter productive now as it was then. She hadn't addressed it then because she'd felt that Tel's disposition was unfavourable but now, and especially in light of his response to Ameiko's questioning, she decided she would make a move.

“Tel, by the gods, you’ll not rob Hearth of his own agency. The night of the raid it was clearly his decision to stay and help the town. He cares for you deeply, that much is plainly obvious, and I don’t suppose you’ve considered that you burning yourself out is precisely the last thing he wants or that will make him happy?”  
Tel shot Uka a look of stunned disbelief. Uka quickly realised that she was all in on this one and that she had better raise the bet.  
“I suppose you think that it’s terribly selfish of you to want to slow down and I’ll state the obvious and remind you that you can’t run forever. Hearth wants you to be happy, and he’s trying to make that happen but you won’t let it. You are, through your own ridiculous level of selflessness, hampering what Hearth has clearly been working so damn hard on. I’d tell you to ask him what he wants you to do but frankly he’s been yelling it at you this whole damn time. Except he cares about you far too much to yell and so tried to quietly direct. Hearth just wants you to be happy so that the two of you can enjoy your life together Tel.”  
To Uka’s sincere gratification Hearth turned a look of disbelief on her as well. Both held the expression for what seemed to the witch like eternity and she was just waiting for it to harden. But her read had been true and hit close enough to home to buy her at least the courtesy of contemplation as the pair turned to look instead at one another. 

“Hearth… I…” Tel said vacantly as his mind tried to order its thoughts enough to make a more coherent response. Hearth just started nodding and kept slowly nodding as Tel spoke.  
“Is… is that how you feel?” The nodding was interrupted for just long enough for Hearth to coo softly.  
“I’m so sorry Hearth. I… I know that this was your choice and that you made it because of me. I just couldn’t… you know, enjoy it, without feeling guilty,” said Tel as he tried to hold the still nodding head.  
“I don’t know what to say Hearth,” Tel trailed off and a thoughtful look came over his features. He thought hard on the topic and found that Uka’s words held more wisdom than he might like to admit. Hearth and he got along famously and in the rare few instances where they’d made a point to have fun together they’d both had a ball. He also looked to himself and had to admit that that fun part of him had been decaying over the last months. After recovering from his injury during their escape he had been so elated at their freedom and so overjoyed to have Hearth at his side that it had provided a balance to the more practical measures they had to take whilst on the run. Now that he looked back he noticed that the pragmatism had slowly killed the freedom and the elation, that the simple joy of being free with his dearest friend had given way to holding on so tightly to those things that he was strangling them both. 

“Alright my friend, I see your point,” Tel said at length to Hearth and he finally stopped nodding his head.   
“I’ll make an effort to not be quite so rigid. We’ll have more fun, do more things, and live more. Though I don’t think I’ll ever be a socialite, and I certainly won’t become one overnight,” Tel said with a chuckle. It was a weak joke and he knew it but it diffused the serious tone of the conversation somewhat. He found talking about such things awkward and the idea of all this quite jarring but he resolved that he’d work on it. He’d lost a lot of himself to his past and his time in the pits, he knew that, but it was time to reclaim the things he’d thrown on the fire of survival since. The pits had permanently changed him, brutalised him, and he was so phobically afraid of either Hearth’s or his own return to them that between that brutalisation and the fear that’d been permanently etched into his mind he’d lost what little he had left. They were living as little better than an animal, ever alone, trusting no one and nothing, taking what they could to survive and, most tragically, building nothing. It was time to change what he could of that. He had one giant, winged, fire-breathing reason to live, not just survive- but to live, and he resolved to enrich both their lives; they'd build some happy memories.

Although Uka was well aware that any changes Tel intended to make would likely take time, especially given what she detected was a severe set of underlying issues, she was hopeful. Wary to not bite off more than could be chewed she made a point to bring the situation back to the mundane. Better to let him chew over the point rather than add anything extra.   
"Now. Let's see those dressings," said Uka.  
Tel reluctantly stripped off under the withering gaze of the witch and silently hoped never to be injured again. Uka carefully removed the dressings and inspected the wounds underneath.  
"They're healing well and I don't think it will be necessary to redress them at this point. Just be careful with them and they should complete the last little bit of healing just fine on their own."  
"Thank you, Uka, for all your help with these," said Tel as he motioned to the scabs.  
"Take more care in future. And get yourself some armour, I'll not be able to keep up otherwise. Now, I'll leave you the salves I promised in return for you help at the graveyard and then I must be off."  
Uka reached into her hat, produced 3 stout jars and handed them to Tel who opened one and sniffed experimentally at the waxy substance within.   
"Apply that to an open wound and the magic bound within will seal it almost instantly. The herbal bits and pieces in there will help the wound heal properly and keep it clean, so make sure you leave it on."  
Tel managed a look of gratitude on his rapidly numbing features.  
"Thanks again Uka," he said, pushing his warm mood to the limits.  
"Well, good. Thank you too," Uka replied with one of her sharp nods.  
Feeling the conversation over and keen to get back to her cottage Uka turned from the pair of vagrants and made for home.

Tel wasted no time getting dressed then blew an alcohol laden breath at the rafters of their hay shed and just closed his eyes. He tried to pull together all the pleasant feelings of the evening and wrap them around himself. The alcohol, the strange sense of community, the last traces of Shayliss warmth and most importantly the rise and fall of Hearths chest at his back. He opened his eyes and turned to his friend.  
"Tomorrow is a new day Hearth, and I promise to start trying to live it rather than survive it."  
Hearth just blew a contented sigh over Tel who rubbed his brow and smiled. Tel closed his eyes again and let the rhythmic thump of Hearths heart rock him to sleep.

When he woke the next morning Tel found that his head was a bit displeased with his choice of liquid refreshment the previous evening. The hammering at his forehead, in conjunction with fact his tongue felt coated in feathers, demanded he go and find some water. He opened his eyes to the early dawn light and realised quickly that Hearth was already up when his bed fidgeted anxiously. His mind immediately reminded him of his promise so he sat up and gave his eyes a rub.  
"Ok my friend, I'm up, I'm up. I'll grab a mouthful of water and we can go and have a play on the beach, yeah?"  
Hearth veritably tipped Tel off as the man stood up and followed him up to the shoulders as he searched the inns kitchen for water. Tel found a kettle of water sitting on the cold stove and poured himself a cup. The water tasted so sweet as it slid over his furry tongue and he wasted no time pouring himself seconds. He turned to leave and Hearth gave him a pointed look.  
"What's the matter Hearth?" Tel enquired of the dragon as a scaled eye narrowed incredulously.  
"Oh, shit, that's right. At least one of us remembered," laughed Tel and Hearth croaked along.

Ameiko rolled over in her bed. She had been waiting for the pair for what seemed like eternity. She'd heard them wake, or at least she'd heard Hearth start fidgeting, and the pair had come into the kitchen to fetch something that turned out not to be her. She just shook her head and glanced over to where her boots and the days clothes were arrayed next to her bed. She wanted to be out the door quickly when they came and got her as she didn't want to start the outing by trying their patience. She wanted this to be a positive experience for all involved in the hopes that it might happen again and, ideally, lead to her getting to know them better. When she heard the pairs laughing exchange she was glad she hadn't been entirely forgotten and when the knock eventually came at her door she wasted no time answering.  
"Yes, who is it?"  
"It's us. Were you already awake?"  
Ameiko inwardly laughed. Anyone would be at the prospect of witnessing a firepower display from a dragon but she wasn't going to admit it.  
"No, but I am now. Give me two shakes of a lambs tail to get ready."  
"Ok, we'll be waiting outside."  
Ameiko threw back the covers and hurriedly got dressed before heading out into the inns courtyard.

When she met up with the pair she couldn't quite keep the grin from her face despite her best efforts. She noticed that Hearth seemed to be wearing a similar look of anticipation while Tel's face looked decidedly worse for wear. He was in dire need of a shave and despite his genuine attempt at a smile his eyes were glassy and bloodshot.  
"You've looked better," she said by way of greeting and she let her suppressed grin widen into a toothy smile.  
"I've felt it too," Tel replied from his perch upon Hearths neck. Hearth reared slightly to communicate his desire to get moving.  
"Well, looks like we'd better get moving then," said Tel. Ameiko noticed that despite the mans obvious hangover he seemed more inclined to smile than she'd ever seen him. The smile gave way to a look of surprise but returned wider than before as Hearth lowered his head to her. Recovering his wits, and determined to make good on last nights promise to his friend, Tel extended a hand to help Ameiko mount up behind him. 

Ameiko's head spun. She took the offered hand and, feet tingling, swung a leg over the scaled neck. As she did so she felt the smooth, almost glassy, scales beneath her and lacking any other handholds put her arms around Tel's waist. As soon as her hands found one another by Tel's navel Hearth moved off at a steady pace towards the beach. Ameiko considered herself a competent and well practiced horse rider but she had to admit to herself that that didn't really compare. The warmth and sheer power that radiated up from the creature beneath her were so much more apparent at such close quarters. Hearth had always seemed magnificent as well as warm to be near but up this close it was something entirely different.

Tel stiffened at the sudden presence of Ameiko's hands clasped around his waist and had to fight the other parts of his anatomy trying to make a similar reaction. Her hands were firm and strong, quite unlike the soft touch of Shayliss. Where she pressed up against him to keep steady under the assault of Hearths excitedly bouncing gait Tel found she felt slender and lean. Her athletes physique almost ropey in comparison to Shayliss soft curves and again he had to fight the images his mind conjured. Thankfully before his lewd imagination could overrun him they rounded the glassworks and the beach came into view.

The surf rolled onto the beach with a rhythmic crash as it always did in Sandpoint and Tel looked out over the incoming waves to the sun making its way clear of the horizon. The sand crunched under Hearth's tread and the dragon wasted no time traversing the small dunes and taking them all down to the beach proper. Hearth lowered his head and Tel slid off onto the sand before turning and helping Ameiko down after him.  
"Well, it's a lovely morning for it," said Ameiko to no one in particular but it drew a nod of agreement from Tel.  
Tel quickly looked for any sign of anything flammable, like a fisherman in his boat, in the area and when he found nothing he turned to Hearth.  
"Well dear friend, are you going to show us what you've got?" Asked Tel.   
Hearth tossed his head, and gave a derisive snort, then blew a cloud of smoke over Tel. Suddenly, like a stoked furnace, Hearths chest began to glow a soft cherry red underneath his scales and heat filled the air. He drew in a short breath, half opened his mouth, and then there was a curious electric crackle immediately followed by a stream of dragon fire. The fluid rushed forward in a torrent from both corners of his mouth, the leading edge unignited, and sprayed forward where it touched the waves. A moment later the fire racing along the jet caught up to turn the spray into a billowing cloud of flame. More solid globs of a stickier substance dropped from the bottom of the flow and continued to burn when they hit either the sand or the surf. Black smoke rolled off the inferno and an acrid stink filled the air. The burning blast was nearly 150 feet long by Tel's estimation and transfixing in its raw display of power. Peeling his gaze from the boiling ocean and the roiling flames he turned to look at Hearth.

The look of determination on the dragons features that only he could read turned to a look of triumph as Hearth noticed the gaping awe of Ameiko and the impressed grin of Tel. Seizing his moment Hearth returned his attention to his fire and tried for an extra few feet of range. Tel just kept watching Hearth as the dragons face was of far more interest to him. The joy he seemed to be taking in something as simple as using his ability to breathe fire was heartening. Looking back now his insistence that Hearth not do this seemed so petty. Sure, when they were first on the run and being actively hunted, this might have given away their location, but they were a long way from Cheliax here and had been for months. He was glad of his new resolution and promise to Hearth he found, and not nearly as anxious as he might have been. This was also the first time he'd seen Hearth use his breath when he could take the time to actually appreciate it as every other time he'd used it it had been a tool in their survival toolbox. Tel returned his gaze to his best friends efforts and found a strange beauty embroidered through the sheer power of the flames.

Ameiko just let her jaw drop. She'd never seen anything like the torrent of dragon fire. Once she saw a wizard throw a fireball but, if she was honest, it didn't really compare. Also the fact that Hearth was still going was even more impressive. His breath was not a flash in the pan but a sustained torrent that set the ocean to boiling and turned the sand to glass. After a few seconds more Hearth relented and turned an impassive face towards her.   
"Don't think I'm fooled by that act Hearth, I know you're just as impressed with yourself as we are," Ameiko responded once she could summon the wit to do so.  
Hearth gave a croaking laugh in reply but seemed almost immediately distracted by Tel.

Tel just chuckled and hugged the head nosing at his chest. It was so oddly cathartic to have what amounted to play time with Hearth and he found his eyes beginning to wet. He blinked back the nascent tears and tried to just let himself enjoy the moment. Despite his best efforts he couldn't completely prevent his more paranoid mind making a series of arguments against this having of fun. But although he couldn't prevent them he did his best to ignore them and just cursed his broken mind once more. He looked into Hearths beaming face and so badly wanted to be normal and happy for him and hated himself for having to try- with mixed results. Hearth simply nosed him again and cooed reassuringly drawing another tight hug from Tel.   
"That was very impressive my friend. Far more impressive even than that day in the arena," said Tel with all the praise he could muster.  
Hearth let Tel take the time he needed with the nosing support and once the man released his hug Hearth warbled and motioned down the beach with his head. The trio trotted off down the beach with him in the lead and only made it about 100 yards before he stopped and plopped himself down to soak up the early morning sun.  
"Is that all you've got?" Asked Ameiko playfully when it became clear why they'd stopped.  
In response Hearth blew another colossal torrent of fire out over the waves before matter-of-factly stretching out on the sand.  
"My friend you're such a humble creature," said Tel to the reclining Hearth who huffed in reply.  
"Tel, that was amazing. Thanks for inviting me to come along this morning," Ameiko said.  
"Thank him," said Tel, pointing to Hearth, "it was his idea."  
"I would, but he doesn't talk back. Come to think of it you don't talk back much either."  
"There's not much to say, really."  
"There's plenty actually, you should give it a try some time."  
"Ok then, what should I talk about?" Said Tel flippantly, determined to make good on his promise but unable to keep his attitude entirely constructive almost as a concession to his paranoia.  
"There's a lot of things. What about something simple, to start with?"  
"Ok, sure."

Ameiko was torn. On the one hand she sorely wanted to ask about the day Tel had referenced when Hearth had used his fire, the day they'd apparently escaped. But she wasn't sure if he'd just clam up if she tried. He was being almost talkative today, or was at least trying to be, and she didn't want to chase that away. Briefly she considered playing her trump card, the fact Tel had promised to tell her the pairs story when he came to realise that the town didn't mean them harm. But she couldn't use that until she was sure that he felt that way, and that they had enough rapport to make the promise mean anything. So she went with something as simple as it got.  
"What's your favourite food?   
"Probably apple pie," said Tel after a moments thought.  
"You've been in the wilds for a while now, so I take it it's been a long time since you've had one?"  
Tel laughed.  
"Yeah, it has, they didn't serve them in the fighting pits either."  
Ameiko felt a surge of satisfaction as here was another clue. So far she'd learned that Tel met Hearth and was tried for dereliction of duty for failing to kill the dragon and that he was a slave. Now she knew he was a pit slave, a gladiator.  
"I could make you one if you'd like. Let it never be said that the Rusty Dragon didn't go the extra mile for its patrons," Ameiko said with a disarming smile designed to distract Tel from the information he'd unwittingly shared.  
"That would be great, if you could."  
"Of course. But I've got to ask, why apple pie?"  
"Oh, well, it was, it was something my mother used to make. A long time ago. I've almost forgotten what it tastes like to be honest."  
"Well, I hope mine can measure up," said Ameiko, careful not to continue the conversation in an uncomfortable direction.

Tel turned away from Ameiko and looked out over the sparkling waters of the Varisian Gulf where the morning sun played golden off the turquoise waves. The water looked so fresh and if he was honest he was long overdue for a bath. Usually while he and Hearth were travelling the wilderness he'd go for a swim when they stopped for a drink at anywhere large enough to do so. But over their stay in Sandpoint water had come from a cup not a stream or a lake. He was feeling a bit ragged from his drinking last night and thoroughly grimy from his lack of bathing which made the water even more inviting. His wounds had healed up well with Uka's attentions and the fight with the skeletons had done nothing to reopen them so he doubted a quick swim would do any harm. There was still one major concern. Although he had no problem stripping off for a dip in front of Hearth doing so in front of Ameiko was a very different story. He might have gone swimming somewhere else along the coast but he didn't want to disturb Hearth and he didn't want to wait. In the end he decided on a compromise of going swimming in his breeches. 

"Lost in the contemplation of Apple pie?" Asked Ameiko with a grin.  
"Huh?" Was all Tel could manage as he snapped himself back to the world around him.  
"You were just standing there and staring out to sea."  
"Oh, hah, no. I was just thinking about going for a swim," Tel said somewhat sheepishly.  
"What's stopping you?"  
"Nothing," Tel lied.   
"Really? Do you need me to look away?" Ameiko replied sarcastically seeing through Tel's feeble deception. She made an exaggerated point of turning around and looking away, but stopped short of actually leaving. She wasn't ready to end her dragon experience just yet and perhaps while Tel was in the water she could get a close look at Hearth. Besides, she took a certain sadistic glee in making Tel uncomfortable. It seemed so ironic to her that a man who rode about on a dragon should be so socially awkward.

Tel looked at her back with eyes full of scepticism. Although it was hardly life and death he wasn't sure he trusted her with his modesty. It was a tempting offer however as he hated swimming in long pants as they stuck to his legs and hampered his admittedly lack lustre skill. He figured that it would be fine so long as she didn't turn around before he made it to waist deep. Wasting no time he stripped off, threw his clothes in a pile, and ran into the surf. 

The temperature was surprisingly comfortable and he threw himself forward into the water as soon as it was deep enough to hide him. The cool embrace felt amazing on his skin and soothed away the remains of his hangover. He rubbed at himself with his hands to dislodge what felt like a years worth of grime and ducked his head under and did the same to his face. Once he was deep enough to stand and remain decent he began his bath in earnest, using handfuls of sand as soap.  
"Don't forget behind your ears," came a mocking call from the beach.  
"I knew it!" Tel cried, but he couldn't quite hide his smile at the ridiculousness of the situation.  
Ameiko just laughed. She was glad Tel seemed to be in such a good mood and decided to push the boundaries a little.   
"You know Tel, I've seen it all before," she said with an exaggerated wink.  
"I really wish you hadn't."  
"Well, now that I've got you as a captive audience," she said as she walked down to the water line, "we can try some more of this talking thing you're so badly out of practice at."  
"You mean you can ask me questions until I drown out here?"  
"You could always make a run for it," Ameiko said with an evil grin.  
"Fine, ask away," Tel replied in a defeated tone. He wasn't cold just yet and he was still a long way from clean so there was little cost in answering a few questions.  
"Talking works both ways actually. Why don't you ask me something?"  
Tel found that he didn't really have anything he wanted to ask. The truth of the matter was that he didn't much care about anyone other than Hearth, who didn't talk. He liked Ameiko but there wasn't a desire to get to know her better or form a bond.   
"What's your interest in us?" he eventually went for.  
"I have something of a weakness for interesting stories. Besides, who wouldn't be curious about a dragon?"  
Tel considered her answer. It seemed like a lie to his more paranoid mind as people who told you they wanted something other than gold or power were usually lying to you in pursuit of those very things. But, he had to admit, he cared for Hearth more than either of those things and he'd heard of stranger fetishes.  
"Ok, sure," he said when he realised he had no idea what to say next.  
"Ok, my turn again. The night we first met what had you been doing? You looked awful."  
Tel didn't really know what to say as the truth was rather ugly and he was unsure how Ameiko would respond. It wasn't so much that he feared arrest, Hearth was just there, but he didn't want to jeopardise Hearths project.  
"Tel, I'm not going to pass judgement but if you don't want to say I'll understand," Ameiko said softly when she noticed the conflicted look that crossed his features.  
"You really want to know?" Tel asked her as he tried to decide whether or not he trusted her to be as good as her word.  
"I do," stated Ameiko flatly.  
"I was stealing food and got caught. The farmer and his son attacked me as I tried to run. I wounded one of them but the other shot me in the back as I fled with my takings. I'm not really sure where the fever came from, I pulled the bolt out and the wound never showed signs of infection thanks to Hearth, but it knocked me around pretty badly," said Tel in a deeply uncomfortable bout of honesty and trust.

Ameiko considered Tel's words and tried to contain her surprise. Of course it shouldn't have surprised her she though, given how she first met the man, but it was still a shocking thing for someone to admit. This was the reality of people like Tel she realised. You could romanticise them all you liked but it didn't take away the fact that they were predators. Her earlier words seemed a bit hollow given that she very much judged him for what he'd told her but again it was just the ugly truth of the survival of the fittest. 

She let out a sigh and composed herself. Predator might have been a bit of a strong reaction as Tel didn't strike her as a person who would take more than he needed. He hadn't stolen their gold or cut them down, he'd taken food to survive. She chose to believe he wasn't a bad person, but this had been a reality check on how far he was willing to go to ensure his survival. Briefly she wondered what might've happened had the farmers had spotted Hearth before quickly deciding she didn't really want to know.   
"Was it a farm around here?" Ameiko asked as evenly as she could.  
"It happened a long way to the south of here. As we were spotted I wanted to leave that place as far behind as possible as quickly as possible," said Tel. His stomach was beginning to knot. He'd said too much and like an idiot he'd just ruined Hearth's project.   
However, Ameiko had a very different mind to Tel and hers couldn't help wondering after the positive things in life. He'd stolen food while starving which by the measure of most people was an understandable, if not excusable, crime and the violence only started once the farmer and his son attacked Tel. An armed attack on a fleeing thief was a bit disproportionate. She decided that he was neither the roughest person she knew, nor the one with the dirtiest past, and that she did want to know their story.  
"Sounds like they overreacted, around here petty theft isn't a capital offence," Ameiko said with a weak smile.  
"For that I'm very grateful," Tel replied once he realised she hadn't reacted how he thought she would.  
He had to admit that he was grateful as if Ameiko had been the type to stab people first and ask questions later he'd likely not be here today.

The conversation had taken on a serious weight and the earlier levity was crushed beneath it. Tel just went back to scrubbing himself and Ameiko turned to walk back up the beach to where Hearth was sprawled in the sand. He looked to be asleep and she was uncertain how he'd respond to being woken by her if she indulged her desire to give him a closer look over. She trusted him while awake to give fair warning if he wanted her gone but animals often snapped if startled and so she just stood and stared, paralysed by indecision. To her surprise it was Tel who broke the impasse.  
"He isn't asleep you know, and he knows you're there," he called up from the waves.  
Ameiko gave an embarrassed laugh.  
"Oh, he looks it and his eyes are closed, so I thought he was napping in the sun," she said, "I didn't want to startle him."  
"Even when he does sleep he seems to know where everything around him is. I haven't figured out how though. If you want some details for your story I'm sure he won't mind."  
"You're sure?"  
"He'll let you know if he doesn't like you and he's been perfectly happy thus far," Tel said with what he hoped was a reassuring smile.   
Uka had been right he knew, Hearth was indeed very much his own agent and as well as supporting his projects he needed to let the dragon make his own decisions and respect them once made. They were going to live their lives and enjoy them together, not just survive, and if Hearth wanted friends then they'd do that together.

Ameiko approached the apparently sleeping dragon slowly. She trusted Tel and she trusted Hearth but Hearth was still something her more primal instincts were extremely wary of. She decided it best to approach from the front, like you would with a horse, and so she made her way around to Hearths head while bing sure to stay a safe distance from the rest of him. As she closed in on her target her fears warred with her excitement and set butterflies loose in her stomach. The short ride on his back earlier did little to dampen her anticipation as she'd never had any one on one time with Hearth.  
"Hello Hearth," she said warmly and was rewarded with a lazily opened eye.  
Hearth slowly lifted his head to regard her and seemed more puzzled than anything by her apprehension. Ameiko supposed that as defensiveness in other animals was usually insurance against an unknown threat it was probably unsurprising that Hearth didn't share it, he was a dragon after all. Also, she reminded herself, Hearth was a good deal smarter than an animal.  
"I'm sorry to wake you," she said, a little unsure in the face of the dragons puzzlement.  
Hearth just gave a snort and shook his head to dislodge the clinging sand then slowly gathered his wings and legs.  
"Oh, no no, don't get up Hearth," Ameiko said helplessly.  
But it was too late. Hearth pushed himself to his feet and suddenly blew another massive torrent of flame into the air to elicit a startled peep from Ameiko. She looked up to see the last of the flames rolling into smoke and turned back to a croaking Hearth. What was more she could hear Tel laughing at her from the water and she spun around to berate him before realising her flushed cheeks. As she faced him she saw him read her reddened face and he laughed all the harder.  
"That laugh still isn't the hardest thing of yours I've seen Tel," she retorted and it was his turn to go silent and bright red.  
With the tables turned Ameiko laughed but Hearth missed the joke and just looked puzzled. Tel looked up at the cackling woman and found that despite his embarrassment he could see the humour in her quip. He tried to hold back his smile but he couldn't.  
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he said in mock annoyance before going back to his scrubbing. The smile never left his face.

Ameiko, her pride restored and happy to see Tel able to laugh at his own expense, turned back to her examination of Hearth. He was faintly warm to be around, that was for sure, but it was a strange sort of heat. It seemed to warm you through your clothes, though it was more noticeable to exposed skin. She cautiously advanced under his inquisitive head and placed her hand on his chest. He was also conventionally warm to the touch like he was when she'd ridden him down here and given how recently he'd used his fire she'd almost expected it to be hotter. Her eye caught that strange line in his chest scales Shalelu had spotted and she moved closer to examine it. It was 5 inches long and perfectly straight. The scales along its length were slightly mis formed and didn't have the same neat edges that his other ones did. They were slightly off colour too she realised, though not by much. She found she agreed with Shalelu's assessment that it was a scar but what was more interesting to her was Tel's obvious discomfort at the mention of it. But before she could hypothesise on the origin of the wound Hearth took a step back, brought his head down to her level and rolled it to one side. She regarded him quizzically and he gave an impatient huff at her inaction.  
"Throw your leg over his neck and hold his horns," came Tel's shouted instructions from the water.  
Ameiko's heart raced at the prospect of riding Hearth by herself, of being atop so mighty a beast and directing its fury. It was an intoxicating thought as she followed Tel's directions and was only increased as she was lifted into the air. Her feet tingling and a smile plastered from ear to ear she couldn't help a whoop of excitement escaping her as Hearth began to trot, faster and faster, down the beach. As he gained speed she found it harder and harder to stay on as there was no saddle and he moved quite unlike a horse beneath her. She gripped the horns as tightly as she could and just as she was starting to get worried Hearth slowed down and gave her a reassuring warble.  
"I'm ok Hearth, thanks," she said with a pat to his brow.  
Hearth turned back the way they'd come and began a slightly slower trot back down the beach. Tel waved from the water and Ameiko waved back. She felt amazing with the wind in her hair and the powerful Hearth beneath her. 

Suddenly Tel began to swim frantically away from them and she noticed too that Hearth had changed course and was heading straight for the retreating man. Tel's frantically splashing progress was being rapidly overhauled by Hearth's long gait and Ameiko could only hold on as she was taken along for the ride. Hearth took one last lunge towards Tel and the wave he produced swamped the man while Ameiko found herself wet to her knees.  
"Hearth, glad to see you too my friend," said Tel when he managed to right himself after Hearths wave.  
Hearth gave a happy warble and a string of croaks then a sly look crossed his eyes. Ameiko noticed too late the dragon's plan when her seat suddenly rotated 90 degrees and the smooth scales offered no grip to her wet legs.  
"Hearth, nooo," she cried before she was cut off by the water.  
Sputtering as she broke the surface she quickly found her feet and turned a stern look on Hearth before splashing water at him. Her effort was pitifully small compared to Hearth's bulk but he understood the game and made an attempt to dodge anyway. He retaliated by batting at the water near her with his paw and but the nimble woman dived to the side while making an attack of her own. Hearth brought down a wing and handily blocked the incoming water before sweeping a great arc with his tail. Realising his ploy Ameiko ducked below the water and the massive splash passed ineffectually. She quickly stood back up but before she could take stock of the situation someone tipped a bucket of water over her head, or at least that was what it felt like. In actuality it was Hearth dumping a mouthful of water over the frustratingly hard to splash woman. Ameiko just laughed.  
"Well played Hearth, well played," she said, admitting defeat as Hearth wore his smug expression.

She heard a splash behind her and turned to see Tel facing away from her. What immediately caught her eye was the scar on his back. It was huge. It had to be nearly 5 inches long and the wound was dead straight although it had healed in a bit of a ragged mess. At the top and bottom of it were smaller scars, each only about half an inch long. A memory shot across her mind from the night of the raid. Tel had a very similar scar to that on his chest, and on the same side too, which at the time she'd thought had been caused in a similar manner to the fresh wound she'd helped Uka stitch. The length and shape of the wounds weren't just similar, they had to be near identical. And Hearth had a similar scar on him too. Come to think of it that was the only scar Hearth had and she knew for a fact he'd been injured the night of the raid but the wound had healed extraordinarily quickly on its own and without scarring. Her mind reeled at the picture starting to emerge from these puzzle pieces. Could it have been the one strike that resulted in all 3 of the scars? The facts for the theory. A large bladed weapon completely impaled Tel and pierced Hearth as well.

Her hypothesising was cut short by Hearths warble and coo at Tel who was laughingly trying to fend off the dragons attempts at getting him to join the game.  
"Hearth, not all of us were blessed with scales for a hide. Some of us need clothes to be decent," came the beleaguered Tel's plea for mercy.  
Hearth only moved to cut him off and pushed him over with his snout. It had the desired effect when Tel resurfaced with a splash at the dragons chest which struck true.  
"Lesson one, never let your-" was all Tel got out before the splash war began in earnest.  
Ameiko watched the pair of them, both quite lost in their own little world, and wondered if they'd always been like this away from prying eyes. It was good to see them play and it was something she'd had a hard time imagining up until now. She'd seen plenty of evidence of the trials the pair had endured and this provided a distinct counterpoint to Tel's inexplicable breakdown after the sheriff left. She decided she'd ask him about that and the scar if ever she got the chance.

"I don't suppose this means you're ready to explore Choppers Isle, does it?" came Uka's unmistakable tone from the beach.  
Like two rats surprised by lamplight Tel and Hearth both froze and slowly looked at Uka.  
"Well, the salt water is likely to do the wounds some good and I have to say spending the morning with you will be much more bearable now that you won't smell quite so bad. Now, I take it I don't need to explain to you the utility of pants for our coming task?"  
Hearth looked at Tel, who gave a knowing glance in reply, then suddenly gathered his fire and blew one of his colossal jets on flame into the air. Uka looked interested more than anything else.  
"Must be trying to impress a mate," Uka said to Tel, "just like rams butting heads. All animals are like sheep once you peel them back to the basics. I hope he knows that doing that again will likely draw a crowd. With that in mind shall I fetch your pants?"  
"If you would," replied Tel rigidly.  
Uka moved over to where his clothes were piled and picked them up with a tentacle of hair.  
"These are filthy, Tel. Here, let me see to that."  
Uka incanted a simple spell and the sand, sweat and grime literally dropped off the fabric and into a neat heap on the beach.  
"Much better. Now hurry and get dressed, and get some breakfast."  
Tel looked on impressed. Magic was something he'd always wanted to master and it seemed there was little limit to the things that Uka could achieve with it. Perhaps he'd ask her to teach him one day, but if he ever wanted a day to come where she might agree to do so he'd need to get moving. Using Hearths wing as a screen he got out of the water, took his clothes from the hair tendrils, and got dressed. 

He looked up to Hearths beaming face and felt something like happiness. His paranoia was clawing at the back of his mind screaming that Hearth using his breath would bring hunters. His more rational mind countered with the fact that everyone already knew Hearth was a dragon but it was not a rational fear Tel knew. It might once have been but that time had passed and it was now rather inappropriate but it was still all to real. Still there was one card he could play his fear didn't have a counter for, and that was Hearth. This is what Hearth wanted, this was his project and he would support Hearth as he knew Hearth supported him. He took a deep breath to diffuse the encroaching panic. His mind ran to dark places and conjured an image of the pained look on Hearth's face when he had seen that his plan to help his friend wasn't working.

He summoned his internal fortitude. Hearths project will work if it kills me Tel thought. It might be a long journey, but I'll get there. For the both of us. Every step taken towards enjoying life together is one taken away from the mental baggage of a traumatic past and this morning they'd taken the first tentative step down that long and bumpy road.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry once again for the lengthy wait between updates. I've got a few more chapters already written and I'll update the story with them weekly to avoid another massive wait. As always please let me know what you think (good and bad) as it helps me improve- though flattery is great motivation =P
> 
> I hope you enjoy it =)
> 
> PS- let me know if you like the formatting (I changed it again)

**Chapter 4**

Tel looked over the small gap between the rocky headland Sandpoint sat atop and the forested outcrop of Chopper's Isle. It looked lovely.

"So the place of so much dread is a beautiful islet literally a stone’s throw from town?" Tel asked sarcastically.

"Indeed it is," countered Uka levelly, "and the fact it's shunned despite its charm is why I'm sure you understand my concern about the townsfolk's superstitious nature."

"That's a fair point," Tel conceded with a soft snort and a smile.

Uka looked to Tel in pleasant surprise at the relatively cheery mood the man was in, though he didn't notice her gaze and instead peered down the cliff to the churning surf.

"So, how do we get across?" Tel asked.

"There used to be a series of logs driven into both cliffs to form steps, but those were removed after Choppers crimes came to light. As it stands I'll have to climb the cliffs while I expect the pair of you can simply fly."

"Would you like a lift?"

"No thank you, I fear for the dignity of your landing amongst those trees."

Tel wasn't too worried if he was honest as the taller trees seemed not to be too close to one another and the smaller brush would be easily crushed by Hearths bulk. Though he had to admit that some dignity might be lost scrabbling through the bushes. Before he could consider their landing further Uka rose a short distance into the air on tentacles of hair, paused only to scoop up Ula, and then moved off down the cliff. She maintained a stately composure as the animate hair walked her down the cliff, across the treacherously slippery rocks and surf below, and then up the cliff of Chopper's Isle.

 

Tel looked to Hearth where he saw his unease at Uka's mode of transport mirrored.

"Well, we best not keep her waiting my friend," he said to the dragon, and with that he mounted up.

Hearth took two steps back and Tel hunched low to his head. Then he bounded forward, leapt into the air, snapped open his wings to glide the short distance and then quickly tucked them close to himself for landing. Hearth aimed for the gap between two large oaks and ignored the smaller plants polluting his landing area. With a crash of leaves and the snapping of twigs they touched down on Choppers Isle and Tel found himself with a face full of plants despite his low posture. Spitting out the intruding foliage he gingerly opened his eyes. The place was indeed beautiful with the larger trees providing a dappled shade over their surroundings. Tel was pleased to see that the thicker undergrowth was present only at the edges of the Isle where the sun reached under the eaves of the trees and with a few short steps they were into the relatively clear interior. Hearth gave a brief shake to dislodge a few clinging twigs before turning to check on Tel who was busily investigating the plethora of woodcarvings that decorated seemingly every tree in sight. They were beautiful, and branches all around them terminated in carved birds from wrens to eagles.

 

"I see you have discovered the works of the hopefully-still-late Jervis Stoot," said Uka as she emerged silently from the shadowed brush.

Hearth didn't seem surprised by her arrival but Tel had to admit he hadn't heard her coming.

"They're beautiful," he said.

"Indeed he was talented with a knife, that's for sure. It's a pity he turned from wood to the flesh of the townsfolk and had to be put down. Now Tel, if you can drag yourself away we might be able to make some actual progress."

"You in a hurry?" Tel asked as he turned away from the carvings.

"As it turns out I have an engagement this afternoon," Uka said as she moved off.

"What, another meeting to attend?" Tel said with a roll of his eyes as he followed.

"Not that it's any of your business but I have been asked to accompany a Mr Foxglove on a boar hunt," Uka replied.

"You've got to be kidding me, what kind of name is that?"

"You'd be surprised, Tel, at the difference it makes if you're polite to people."

"I don't even know who the guy is, much less care about him."

"Well he happens to be be a local noble, and one we saved the night of the raid. Though I've no interest in courting the man he seems to be overly interested in courting me and, frankly, a boar hunt was the least intimate of the offers he made," said Uka in her trademark level, with a hint of disapproval, tone.

Tel just laughed.

"Boar hunting can be dangerous. Just let nature take its course, or give it a prod if it looks like he might survive the outing."

"Tel, as a witch, it would be most unprofessional to have people dying on my watch," Uka replied sternly, she wanted to discourage that line of thinking.

Usually she'd put it down as dark humour but with Tel she wasn't quite sure he wasn't serious.

"It's your afternoon to waste."

"Indeed it is. Now I believe we are here."

 

Uka pointed to what looked like a charred stump.

"When the villagers discovered the identity of the killer they burnt his house to the ground. But it's the tunnels below I'm more concerned about. They're accessed through an iron trapdoor somewhere in the ruins," Uka explained as they walked into what used to be Choppers house.

Tel kicked at the ground as they went and was soon rewarded with a hollow clang.

"Found it," he said as he set to scraping back the thin layer of charcoal and leaves that covered the trapdoor.

When he was done he was disappointed to see that the hinges were well and truly rusted shut.

"Hearth, my friend, could you open this for me?" Tel asked with a stroke of the snout interestedly sniffing at what he was doing.

Hearth took a second to figure out what was being asked before raking the rusted iron with his claws. His first attempt caused only a horrific shriek but his second snagged a hinge and tore the entire door up out of its setting. Tel thanked Hearth and rubbed his nose then looked down into the darkness of the opening.

"What are we looking for down there exactly?" Asked Tel.

"Any evidence of disturbance. Hopefully we'll find none but given the interest shown in the remains of Tobyn I'm keen to confirm that there's no connection or anything to worry about," replied Uka as she too peered into the dark maw of the basement.

Tel had to admit he didn't like this. It wasn't that he was worried that he'd be set upon by the undead corpse of Chopper, it was more that the basement entrance was too small for Hearth to accompany him. It reminded him of the tunnels and cells below the arenas with the stone seeming to press in around him. He found his breath catching in his throat and his heart rate accelerating. You can do this, he told himself, for Hearth. And for himself. For both of them. His survivors mind hated this seeking out of danger but Hearth liked Sandpoint and he had to admit so did he. For us, he mentally recited as he tried to steady his breathing. Hearth cooed supportively.

"Your courage is giving me grey hairs," Tel said to Hearth with a smile. "First the goblins during the raid, then the unquiet dead, and now this."

Hearth warbled happily at the joke and snorted into Tel's supposedly greying hair.

"If you're happy to proceed we should get going," said Uka with a surprising note of sympathy taking the edge off her usual tone.

Tel nodded to signal his readiness and turned to Hearth.

"I'll be back before you know it," he said and hugged his friends huge face tightly.

 

He turned back to the hole to see Uka lowering herself down on strands of hair with her hat glowing brightly to light his way. Seeing the floor was only 10 feet down he gripped the edge tightly, lowered himself as far as his arms would allow, and dangled there a moment. He took a moment to give Hearth a reassuring smile and dropped. The rush of panic was almost instantaneous. The stone walls, illuminated by Uka's hat, seemed to hold him prisoner. He was trapped again in a stone hell. Internally he battled for all he was worth to maintain control of his racing thoughts. Memories of horrific experiences flashed across his mind in exacting detail and the emotions he'd felt at those times washed over him like a wave. Instinctively he reached for Hearth but the dragon wasn't there.

 

Uka examined the room while she waited for Tel to join her. The stonework here was crude, laboriously excavated with pick and bucket and conflicted with the reports of those few who had braved this place the night of Chopper's demise. They'd reported large tunnels, rooms, and even a cathedral like space housing a huge statue. That kind of excavation would certainly have been too much for one man to achieve with the same basic methods as were used on this basement. She quickly spotted the way down where it was partially hidden behind the charred and rotten remains of what must have been the villagers rushed efforts at sealing the tunnel. Indeed as she approached she noted that the stonework of the tunnel was quite unlike that of the basement. The walls were smooth, almost flawlessly so, and must have been near ten feet high. The floor was steps that zigzagged down into the gloom. Uka turned to see what was keeping Tel and was not surprised to see the man standing hunched with his eyes closed and his fists balled. He seemed frozen and Uka was perceptive enough to know that he was struggling with something. It wasn't the fear of spirits or ghouls she knew as she'd seen Tel quite at ease exploring the graveyard last night. Perhaps it was claustrophobia? She decided to let him be unless he became erratic as she reasoned that if he could overcome this on his own it would be important for him to do so.

 

Tel's mind swam in memories of stone and iron, sand and blood, terror and pain. He was drowning in it. He felt strangely dissociated from his body, as though the memories had become his reality again. But still he fought it. You're free, he told himself, you and Hearth made it out. He forced the memories he'd made since into the stream that flowed across his consciousness. Memories of flying, of sheltering under dark wings in the rain, of swimming in streams and of their play fights. Thoughts of the better times took the edge off his anxiety's assault and gave him the respite he needed to rally himself. For us. He forced open his eyes, straightened his back and unclenched his fists. His mind screamed and railed against him but he forced his body to action by simply putting one foot in front of another. His hands were shaking at his sides when he joined Uka by the mouldering barricade and his voice was shakier still when he spoke.

"So you think we should look down there?" He asked.

"Definitely, I see nothing of interest in here and the accounts of those who built this barricade speak of more beyond," Uka said as though nothing were amiss.

"Ok," was all Tel could muster in response but he was grateful Uka seemed to be making a point of ignoring his lack of composure.

With a crash Uka's hair made short work of the barricade and the pair advanced down the stairs into the waiting gloom.

 

They descended the back and forth stairs until they came to a large circular antechamber. Uka released a mote of light into the air and it flew to the ceiling to illuminate the room. The room had a domed ceiling and a door to the left and the right with stonework in the same style as the stairs. On the far side, towering above them, was an immense statue of a grotesque anthropomorphic bird. The 40 foot tall monument to the insanity of its creator was posed as if ready to strike the pair and its disfigured visage was as disturbing as it was intimidating. Uka looked over to the already shaken Tel and feared he may be ready to run but he seemed unimpressed by the statue. If anything he seemed strangely enthralled by it. Suspecting foul magic designed to entrap the will of those who gazed upon it she prepared to open her mage sight.

"Those will keep us in cows for years," Tel said, his voice devoid of its earlier shakiness.

Uka followed his gaze up to the statue's face where its eyes glittered in the magical light. Each was a huge gemstone that twinkled with a deep red colour.

"That is a statue to the demon Pazuzu, Tel," Uka said matter-of-factly.

"I don't care who it's a statue of, those gemstones are worth a fortune."

"Usually, Tel, I'd praise your lack of superstition but occasionally it does pay to be cautious with such things."

"What, do you think the demon himself will show up and strike me down for defiling his shrine? I've seen a lot of people invoke the names of gods shortly before they died. I find it hard to believe this Pazuzu is so flush with power that he's able to defend this forgotten shrine."

"While I agree with you that the personal intervention of a demon is unlikely that's not to say there aren't other, lesser, threats present. This place is steeped in suffering and death, I can feel it."

 

Uka dispassionately noted the feeling then looked over to Tel and couldn't help but wonder where the young man had been or what he had seen to leave him quite so inured to the aura of this place. Being a witch lent her a certain sensitivity to these sorts of things but it also lent an understanding which helped to lessen the unease. The miasma of place was almost palpable and she was confident that even those without a magical sensitivity to such things would be able to feel it. Certainly those who'd been here before had reported as much.

 

Tel looked up at the gemstones again and considered Uka's words. The place didn't feel creepy to him, but then he wondered if that was more a mental malfunction on his part. His own initial unease in this place was from something he'd brought with him and had little to do with bad vibes or weird statues. If anything the presence of those gemstones alleviated much of his fear as he now had a very real reason to be here. He ran his gaze down the statue and tried to plot a climbable course up to the stones but was interrupted by the sound of a child sobbing.

"Well, there's your bad vibes," he said sarcastically, earning him a stern look from Uka who suddenly froze.

"Tel, don't make any sudden moves," she hissed, looking past him to the left.

Tel immediately stopped and turned his head as slowly as he could while his fingers crawled towards his sword. Not five feet away was a pile of rags draped over a child sized skeleton. The waist high horror turned its hooded face up to Tel, revealing the skull of a small canine. It sobbed as it advanced another step then let out a scream and lunged. Tel whipped his short blade free from its scabbard and slashed in a wide arc across the leaping monsters path. The thing was swift however and his blow only caught its legs while its little bony hands grabbed fistfuls of his collar and its canine skull snapped horizontally at his neck. Reflexively he tucked in his chin to protect his soft throat and was rewarded with stinging pain when small teeth pierced both his cheeks. He could feel dust being puffed onto his face in some demented parody of breath and it made him loathe to inhale. He quickly made a second stab with his blade as he toppled over backwards under the surprising strength of an assailant half his height. His strike went up to the hilt into the ribcage of the creature and he tried to throw it off him. It had a firm grip on his collar however and would not be dislodged. It frenziedly snapped again at his face and in addition to the pain he felt a strange numbness begin to seep into his body from the wounds. It dulled his senses, made heavy his limbs and begged him to just rest. Adrenaline fought hard against the supernatural lethargy and with a heave, assisted by a yanking coil of hair, he threw the monster off himself.

 

It landed nimbly and immediately dashed back to continue its assault. Tel tried to push himself to his feet but whatever was enervating his limbs was getting worse. He pushed with all his might and managed to get up onto his elbows right as the creature leaped at the pair of them. Tel found the strength to bring his blade up in front of himself but to the amazement of his groggy mind the child had aimed its pounce at Uka and sailed clean over the top of him. He heard the thump as Uka hit the ground and it made him sick to his stomach that he could be rendered so helpless. He fought with all his will against the encroaching magic and its promise of sleep but he feared he was losing that battle. He managed to roll over and noticed that Uka wasn't fairing much better than he had against the nimble creature. She had it bound in her hair but he could see a trickle of blood running down her arm and knew what the bite brought with it. Painfully slowly he reached out for the creatures leg and managed to grab a hold of its ankle. He didn't try to pull it off her, he knew he didn't have the strength, instead he maintained his grip and rolled away from Uka hoping that his added weight would tip the grapple in her favour.

 

His drowsy mind was only dimly aware of the crashing his ears heard coming from the staircase. As the realisation that the sound was of falling rocks his already battered morale sank further. A cave in might doom them as surely as a fight with this damnable abomination though the death would be an awful lot slower. Tel stared up at Uka's light on the ceiling with the strength only to maintain his grip on the creatures ankle. He clung to the hope his efforts might keep it anchored and allow Uka to come up with something.

"Hearth, I'm so sorry," he whispered to the room.

He couldn't even manage anger, he just felt so tired. And no matter how hard he tried to drive his body on he could manage nothing more. He felt like such a failure. That he couldn't even bring himself to get up for Hearth left him feeling disgusted with himself. He felt a wretched excuse for a friend and utterly undeserving of the loyalty and devotion Hearth had shown him. He was sure that if their positions were reversed that Hearth would be up off this floor in an instant.

 

Suddenly the load on his arm disappeared. He rolled his head to see what had happened to the leg he'd been holding and was surprised to see that it was no longer attached to anything. Then a hot wind rolled over his face and the scent carried on it was unmistakable.

"Hearth?" He croaked through exhausted lips, "is that you?"

The rumbling coo that answered him brought tears to his eyes. Tears of joy and tears of shame.

"I'm so sorry Hearth, I couldn't push through for you. I failed you," Tel quietly sobbed into the scaled chin that came to rest on his chest.

Hearth huffed dismissively and turned a deeply caring eye on the prone man who reached up to stroke his cheek. Hearth warbled contentedly and nosed Tel's face affectionately.

"Thank you Hearth, for saving me again. For everything. I feel so undeserving of your love," said Tel with a self deprecating smile.

Hearth just lied down next to Tel, wrapped him close with his neck and tail, and snuggled his head into Tel's side. Tel just lay there, cocooned in dragon, with the occasional silent tear running down his cheek until the enervation wore off.

 

"Well, he's not claustrophobic and I'm guessing he's the source of those cave in sounds," said Uka as she stood and primly adjusted her skirts.

She gave herself a quick brush off and turned to assess Tel. He looked fine physically as the creatures tiny teeth had left only superficial wounds on both of them. Still, had it not been for Hearths timely intervention she had to admit their fate was uncertain at best and succumbing to that thing didn't really bear thinking about. What she was more worried about was the fact that Hearth seemed to be concerned about Tel. She could see clean tracks down his cheeks where he'd obviously been crying but noted that his eyes seemed dry now.

"I think he's incredibly brave," Tel replied from the floor.

"And a powerful digger if my suspicions prove correct," said Uka and she cast an appraising eye over Hearth who still had dirt on his claws. "Now did you see what became of that little... Thing?"

Tel sat up, gave Hearth a rub to let him know he was ok, and pushed himself to his feet. He wiped his face with his hand and looked around. He soon spotted the leg he'd been holding partially buried under Hearths tail. He picked it up and offered it to Uka.

"Well, it's definitely human, and young too by the size of it," said Uka, turning it over in her hands.

"Do children around here usually have canine skulls?" Tel asked with a weak smile.

"Not unless they make inappropriate jokes within my earshot," Uka replied levelly.

Tel couldn't be sure, but he thought that might have been an attempt to return his own weak joke. Although both their attempts at humour were poor at best it helped to take some of the stress out of the situation which could have claimed both their lives. The stress was only compounded for Tel by his insecurities. Rather than deal with the thoughts running through his head Tel decided that pushing on was the best way forward.

"Now that the creepy skeleton is properly dead I think I might have a go at grabbing those," Tel said as he pointed to the statues head.

"Perhaps I might persuade you to retrieve them on our way out of this place? It would do none of those present any good to have danger burst in through one of those doors whilst you were climbing 40 feet in the air," Uka said with a glance towards Hearth.

Tel followed her gaze and then immediately nodded in agreement.

 

Uka disliked having to manipulate Tel but it was for his own good. Truly he'd be useless in a fight if he were climbing but also she was keen to have him near Hearth in case the dragon decided that she was acceptable collateral damage. She'd seen that breath on the beach and had no desire to be caught in it. Also she had to admit that she was keen to have Hearth's attention on the fight as she worried that if the pair were more than arms reach apart the dragon would prioritise getting to Tel over defending her. She smiled inwardly at the thought that Hearth was both useful in a fight and as leverage on Tel. Looking at the pair now she realised that the more she saw of them the more she worried. Tel's eyes still bore the telltale red of tears and Hearth seemed more concerned with the man than ever. Her pep talk of last night did seem to be starting to unravel the mightily tangled ball of yarn that was the history and associated demons of the two. But the more she saw of that ball the more she realised just how big and tangled it really was. She grit her mental teeth and reminded herself that she could get them both better. She'd see them both right, anything less would be unprofessional, but for now all she needed to do was pick a door. Left or right.

 

"Tel would you accompany me to the door on the left, if you please," Uka announced more than asked as she walked over to the door in question.

"Sure," Tel replied and he and Hearth followed.

The door was a slab of stone decorated in disturbing carvings of eye balls and tongues with a heavy iron ring set into it for a handle. Fearful that she wouldn't have the strength to pull open the heavy door in her arms she reached for it with a tendril of hair and applied her willpower to it instead. The door swung open under the prodigious might of Uka's will and when it did she immediately wished she'd gone right instead.

 

Inside the simple, square room the walls were covered in jars containing eyeballs that followed you with their gaze and tongues that wriggled against the nails that held them. Uka looked on with open disgust but didn't advance through the doorway. There was no way a tongue at least 5 years old could still be that fresh, let alone wriggling.

"Well, this certainly fits the unhinged theme that the decor has been running with thus far," said Uka.

"This Chopper guy was a real nut," Tel agreed and he walked into the room.

Uka almost expected him to be struck down by some demonic magic and had to hide a sigh of relief when he wasn't. Tel drew his sword and poked a tongue on the wall with the tip. The pinned muscle began to writhe excitedly and seemed for all the world to be trying to attack the probing blade. Tel, unfazed by the disturbing spectacle, just pushed harder until the blade pierced flesh. Where the steel sank into the tongue a foul blood, black and clotted, flowed out.

"Well, that's strange," he said with mock interest.

"Tel it might be wise in future to not prod at the clearly supernatural phenomena in the demonic temple," said Uka after she watched the spectacle unfold.

She probably could have spoken up sooner but she had to admit to a certain, morbid, curiosity of her own.

"What's it going to do? Lick me to death?"

"I'm sure I wouldn't know the modus operandi of a demonically animated tongue, Tel."

"Huh, fair enough," said Tel with a smile and a soft snort.

Uka was surprised at the attempt at civility from Tel but before she could return the joke she noticed something on the floor that troubled her deeply.

 

"Tel, look there, by your left boot," she said as she pointed.

Tel looked and saw a black mark which appeared as though it had been made by a fire.

"Someone attempted to burn this place, do you think?" Tel replied.

"I think they did, but to no effect it would seem. This place must be somehow protected from damage," Uka half announced, half mused.

"You know what else is in here," said Tel as he walked towards the far side of the room, "a book. It's leather. One guess what kind."

"That is repugnant," Uka said in condemnation of the books material and Tel's attitude towards it.

Tel flipped a page open and looked at the writing but it was in a script he couldn't read.

"Well, it's in a language I can't read but if had to guess I'd say it's a religious text," he said.

"Tel, if it's all the same to you I think it might be wise to retrieve some holy water from the temple and see if that has any more utility in destroying the contents of this room. If that too fails it might still be prudent to spend some time seeking a way to achieve its destruction," said Uka with a concerned frown.

"There's something I think we should try first. I've never seen anything stand up to dragonfire and Hearth could easily flood the room with the stuff."

"Well, I suppose that's worth a shot," said Uka as she moved out of the room.

Tel followed her and turned to Hearth.

"Fire away my friend," he said and motioned to the room.

 

Hearth summoned his fire and drew in a short breath. He began radiating heat and a soft orange glow began to show between the scales of his chest before he opened his mouth and, after an electrical crackle, projected a roaring torrent into the room. The heat was almost unbearable, and their cramped location did nothing to help, so Tel quickly put a hand against Hearth's foreleg. The dragon ceased his fiery assault on the room and turned to see what Tel wanted.

"You're going to cook me like bread in an oven if you keep that up," said Tel with a smile and Hearth laughed his croaking laugh in reply.

A moment later the most pungent odour Tel could ever remember smelling invaded his nostrils and he nearly gagged on the stench. With its sulphurous tendrils winding their way through his sinuses Tel pulled his shirt up over his nose but it offered little relief.

"The hell is that?" He asked Uka who was clearly suffering the same olfactory beating as he was.

"If I had to guess I'd say that was the scent of your idea working, Tel," Uka said.

She stepped toward the open door and looked into the room beyond where spots of the thicker component of Hearth's fire still burned on the floor and walls. The vile assembly of body parts was nowhere to be seen with glowing pools of molten glass the only evidence of anything ever having been in the room at all. Satisfied that the tainted works of Chopper had been purged she closed the door with a tendril of hair.

 

"That's the end of that," Uka stated simply.

"So, maybe you were wrong about the villagers suspicions after all? Perhaps the vengeful spirit of Chopper has returned along with the animated bones of the priest," Tel said.

"Tel everything down here is undisturbed and has been for 5 years. No, if anything this only confirms my suspicions that the happenings at the crypt had nothing to do with Chopper and everything to do with the goblin raid."

"Great, so then we can pinch those jewels and get out of here," said Tel as he cast his eyes back up the statue.

"I'd rather we check the other door too, first, if that's acceptable," said Uka with her subtly commanding undertone.

"Fine, sure," Tel said without much enthusiasm.

Truth be told he was keen to be getting out of here as although the panic had subsided it left in its wake a general feeling of unease, like he couldn't quite get a deep enough breath. He looked over to Hearth and was pleased to see him looking happy enough despite having to keep his wings tucked close in the cramped environment. He briefly smiled at the irony of the situation. Here was he, to whom these tunnels were positively spacious, getting claustrophobic at their similarity to the fighting pits while Hearth, a creature of the wide open skies, was clearly at ease. He moved close to Hearth as the three of them advanced on the remaining door which Uka promptly opened.

 

Beyond was a simple stone tunnel, much like the one they'd entered through, ending in a spiral staircase. The air that wafted through the opened door smelled of the sea and a faint lapping of water could be heard coming from somewhere ahead.

"The complex must have flooded at some point," Uka said.

"Well we can't be too far above the water level down here," Tel added.

"I agree, let us go and confirm that this is as far as Chopper's old domain extended," said Uka.

Tel moved forwards, confident that Hearth was right at his back, into the tunnel and immediately spotted a hooded figure crouched against the wall. Apparently the detection had been mutual as the figure immediately rose to its feet and charged wielding a whittling knife. As the distance closed Tel could see that his eyes were missing, tears of blood were running down his cheeks and mingling with the blood running from his mouth. Tel had seen enough mutilation to not be bothered by the missing eyes, and what he suspected was a missing tongue, but he was put off by the fact that his assailant was running 6 inches off the ground. He'd heard of spirits before and the tales told that they were immune to the effects of mundane weapons. Briefly another wave of helplessness and worthlessness threatened to capsize his thoughts. Tel's mind was as sharp as any blade though and quickly formulated a plan. He knew that he had no way to harm the spirit but he suspected dragonfire wouldn't suffer the same impotence. He ducked, motioned down the hallway with his arm and yelled.

"Hearth, Fire!"

 

Uka heard Tel's shout and quickly scanned the corridor for danger or anything else that might have provoked the request. She could see nothing but the tone of Tel's voice told her in no uncertain terms that the man was scared of something. No sooner than Tel's voice had left her ear than she felt the heat in the air that preceded dragonfire. Uka heard the electric buzz and had only enough time to shield her face with her sleeve before the inferno rushed down the corridor. She was amazed at the sheer speed of Hearth's response, and that he hadn't hesitated for an instant as soon as Tel had asked. She couldn't help but admire the devotion they showed, both ready to go all in for the other on a moments notice, but it also worried her. If this was a busy town street and Tel made the same request would Hearth even think twice? What if it was her in the line of fire? She had a sneaking suspicion the answer to both would be a no.

 

Tel stepped to the side as Hearth shot his head forward and was comforted by his friends swift, powerful response. He ducked beneath Hearths jaw as the flames poured forth to evade the radiant heat and turned to look down the corridor where he was pleased to see the apparition blown away in screaming shreds. He reached a hand up to Hearth's cheek and the flow abated. With the passage of the immediate threat another wave of worthlessness threatened to sweep him out into the sea of his fears. Hearth nuzzled him reassuringly and Tel felt better knowing that even if he were swept into that sea his friend would swim out to retrieve him.

"Tel, what was that about?" Uka demanded sternly. "I might've lost my eyebrows."

She wasn't prepared to admit she was worried about losing more besides.

"There was a spirit charging down the corridor towards us, did you not see it?"

"No, I didn't," Uka said more calmly.

She knew the man had PTSD, and that something aside from the demonic in this place was exacerbating it, but she didn't know it was bad enough to result in hallucinations.

"Tel," she continued softly, "are you sure the spirit was... Real?"

"What? Yes. Of course it was. It was right there."

"Hearth didn't seem to have detected it either," Uka said calmly.

She was well aware that this line of questioning might cause problems in their tenuous relationship but she felt it had to be addressed. Tel's face just went blank at the realisation. He drew a ragged breath and blew it out slowly to calm the suddenly massive surf building in the ocean of his mind. He hugged the snout nosing at his face and felt soothed by Hearth's rolling drone.

"I'll check the staircase," said Uka, "and no more fire, I'll be down there."

Tel didn't reply.

 

Uka walked a bit more quickly than might have been dignified but she was keen to get out of the range of Hearth's fire in case of a repeat of the phantom assailant incident. She felt her pace was entirely justified as she passed through the section of the corridor that had been filled with the fire. The heat was still coming off the walls and she could feet the hot stones beneath her feet. Her pace quickly brought her to the top step of the vast spiral staircase that descended into the rock below her. It wasn't open in the centre, instead it had a large column, and so she cautiously advanced into the gloom. Her magelight from the central chamber didn't reach this far but if she was honest that suited her just fine. She could see perfectly in the pitch black and the gloom flowed around her and welcomed her into its fold. She was essentially invisible to anything that didn't have senses like those of a dragon, that strange ability to know where everything was around you. She felt bad for dropping her suspicions that was Tel hallucinating on the man but it was the fact that Hearth hadn't shown any interest in the corridor that she felt had confirmed her theory. She rounded another turn in the staircase and was pleased to see water lapping at the stairs and what appeared to be tidal lines on the walls. With confirmation that this was as far as Chopper's lair went she turned back for the other two. Pondering ways to unravel that giant ball of yarn as she went.

 

Tel was grateful for the time to compose himself. He knew that he had demons and that he was broken inside. He hated himself for the burden it placed on him and even more than that he hated the burden it placed on Hearth. But to be hallucinating was yet another step down the road of unworthy and burdensome.A friend so loyal deserved better. Remembering how unhesitatingly Hearth had come to his call only made it worse. It turned his happy memories of Hearth around on him, each one now a generous gesture he hadn't returned because he was pathetic. Strangely the memory that helped him was one of Uka and the stern talking to she gave him last night. She'd said Hearth was his number one priority and he wouldn't make Hearth happy by burning himself out, nor with self flagellation. Hearth did deserve better, but Hearth's friendship and loyalty was to him, and so it fell to him to be that better person. He blew a sigh but the end of it caught on the lump in his throat.

"Oh Hearth, I'm so sorry. I keep dropping the ball on our Sandpoint project. It's just... Now that I'm... You know, trying to... Fix things. I... I think it's all catching up with me Hearth. I'm trying to salvage of myself what I can... But, now that I'm no longer living like a beast, stuck in survival mode, I think there's not... Not a lot left. Well there's certainly a lot to work through. I'll never stop trying Hearth, for both of us, but I'm not sure how much of this is going to heal."

Hearth cooed sympathetically and hugged Tel close to his chest with his chin.

"Just another bump in this long road we're on..." Tel weakly laughed into Hearths chest while a tear ran down his cheek.

Hearth warbled and relaxed his hug to look Tel in the eye.

"Over the bump and onwards," Tel said and saw his smile reflected in that great draconic eye.

 

"I was correct. The stair descends only a short way to the waterline," Uka announced upon her return.

Tel sniffed and wiped his nose on his forearm then gave Uka a smile. He hated to admit it but her stern words had helped him and it was nice to see a helpful face.

"That's good to hear," he said, by way of a thank you.

"I too was pleased to find the end of this temple, it doesn't do to linger overlong is such a drab place."

"I hear that," said Tel, his words trailing off as he noticed Uka's brow crease.

"Tel, over there, behind you, I think there's a secret door," Uka said in a calm tone to prevent the words bringing sudden actions.

Her calm tone had the desired effect and instead of drawing blades and baring teeth the pair turned to look at the wall.

"I'll have to take your word on that," said Tel as he looked up and down at the indicated section and saw nothing.

Uka shooed the man out of the way and set about looking for a mechanism to open the door. After a brief search she located a small panel that swung open if pressed to reveal the heavy iron ring that served as a door handle.

"Do be ready Tel, this door might hide anything."

Tel drew his blade and moved close to Hearth then Uka pulled open the secret door.

 

Much to their relief nothing came flying out of the darkness to assault them.

"Look at that," Uka remarked as she fully opened the door.

She pointed to the inside of the door where, near the bottom, there were scratch marks on the stone.

"Something was trying to get out, I think," Uka said absentmindedly.

"I hate confinement too," Tel said, quietly battling darker memories.

Uka sent a magelight into the room and its glow revealed a book thrown onto the floor, it's pages splayed open, and a mouldering blanket covering something at the back of the room.

Seeing no immediate danger, and disinterested in the book, Tel moved over to investigate the blanket. Secretly hoping for it to be covering some jewelled religious paraphernalia but wary as ever he gingerly prodded it with his boot. When the blanket didn't respond he prodded it with his blade. Satisfied that it wasn't about to spring a surprise attack on him Tel gently lifted it.

"Well, that really, really fucking sucks," he said in a tone devoid of sarcasm.

Uka immediately identified the tone as what passed for distress with Tel and looked up from her examination of the book to see him squatting beside a tangle of bones. She quickly moved to investigate.

"Looks like a child and some sort of small canine," Uka observed.

"Yeah, a boy and his dog. He died hugging his friend..." Tel trailed off and looked over to Hearth.

"This must be the child that went missing during Chopper's killing spree. Everyone suspected Chopper had taken the boy but his body was never found. He had a pet fox he was dearly fond of," Uka said sadly, unable to maintain her usual no nonsense tone. "The poor pair must have starved to death when Chopper was slain and this door went unnoticed."

"Well that's fucked up. Starving to death in the pitch black."

"I'm surprised the child didn't think to eat the fox."

"I'm not."

"Either way it's certainly unfortunate. From the contents of that book I'd say Chopper was trying to craft a protege by forcing the child to write out verses to Pazuzu. It might also explain the creature that was present near the statue. Such things are usually connected to occurrences such as this."

"So, what, the child's spirit is trapped down here haunting the place?"

"It seems likely. There's strong emotion here, clearly, and that's usually the catalyst for spontaneously created undead."

 

Tel looked at the pitiful remains and couldn't help but empathise. It was rare for him to do so. In fact this might be the first time since his capture, Hearth aside of course. In that pair of skeletons he saw a bond similar to the one he and Hearth shared and was struck by the thought that here was a pair so similar that hadn't managed to escape the way they had. It was a stark reminder of what would have become of them had they not broken free. Somehow leaving them here, still in captivity, just seemed wrong. And if what Uka said was correct, and Tel had to admit he respected her opinion on such matters, their spirits might still be chained to this place by their feelings of loss and despair. They deserved better. This mirror for Hearth and he deserved better.  Tel also recognised within himself that these feelings of empathy were the kind of thing he needed to encourage if he was ever going to even partially recover.

 

"I'll, ah, I might, take them out of here," said Tel, motioning at the corpses.

"That would wise, I should think, but also proper. The boy has family in town who will be grateful to have closure on this too," Uka said.

She was happy to hear Tel voice the idea to remove the child's remains as although it had occurred to her immediately as something that needed doing it was a good sign to see Tel care. She was worried that the obvious parallel to himself and Hearth might provoke his anxieties or, worse, that he would show his usual ambivalence. Tel sheathed his blade and wrapped the bones in the remains of the blanket he found them in and Uka noticed he wrapped both into one jumbled pile. He walked to the door and the waiting form of Hearth investigated the swaddled bones with a sniff. A look of gratitude passed between the pair for the company of the other and their freedom. The look was followed by a moment of reflection on what might have been and the fate of those less fortunate.

"We done?" Tel asked, turning back to Uka who was investigating the copy book cautiously.

"I believe we are," was all Uka said as she abandoned her investigation and with a snap of her fingers set the book ablaze.

"Come on my friend, let's snatch those rubies and get out of here," said Tel looking on at the pages as they disintegrated in the magical fire.

 

When they made it back up the stairs the shaft of light shining down through Hearth's excavations was a more welcome sight than any of them expected it to be. The light chased away a malaise that none had been aware had settled, yet had been there all the same. As they scrabbled out of the basement and back onto the surface of Chopper's Isle they all breathed a little easier. Tel looked down to the bundle in his arms and then to Hearth and finally Uka and found that now that the boy and the fox were free he didn't really know what to do with them. Movement caught his eye and he looked over to see a young boy with a fox sitting by his side, only semi opaque, waving at him and smiling. Immediately he knew who the pair were and couldn't help a small smile in return. He felt something, somewhere, distant and faint, but he felt something. He noticed Hearth looking in the same direction but by the time he'd glanced at Hearth and glanced to where the boy and fox had been they were gone. He would have dismissed it as merely another hallucination but for the intense stare of Hearth and the meaningful look the dragon gave him when he too seemed to lose sight of the spirits.

 

"Well, I think that concludes our mornings expedition. Thank you for your assistance Tel, and for yours Hearth. I'm now confident that despite the oddities uncovered here that the place was never haunted by the spirit of Chopper and that he is entirely unrelated to the present troubles," said Uka.

"Great, any time. I'll go and drop the bones off at the temple, I think," Tel said, seeking Uka's reaction to judge the propriety of his plan.

"That sounds fitting. Zantus will be able to make arrangements and contact the family. After that do you have further plans for the day?"

"None so far, though I think I'll find Hearth a feed. He's more than earned it."

"That he has. I dare say he saved both our lives down there. Speaking of quadruped friends, have you seen Ula about? She'll no doubt want a lift off the island," said Uka, looking around.

"I haven't seen her. Come to think of it, I rarely see her at all."

No sooner than the words left his mouth Tel felt something rub up against his boot. Stifling his initial shock he looked down to see Ula giving him a strange look. What worried him the most however was that Hearth seemed surprised to see the cat too.

"Ahh, there you are. Come along Ula and I'll find you some milk," said Uka as she stooped to pick up the now purring cat.

"Then you're off on your date?" Tel asked sarcastically.

"Tel, I'll thank you not to say such things as I'd rather not encourage the man."

"A rose by any other name..." He let the words hang.

"Yes, well, some of us, Tel, happen to be members of a community and sometimes this requires us to do things we might not entirely enjoy in order to keep everyone happy," Uka said a bit huffily.

"You could have just said no."

"The man is nothing if not persistent. Besides he rightfully feels indebted to us for saving his life and this will at least get him to stop pestering me about it," she said and a note of defeat crept into her tone as they made their way back towards the edge of the Isle.

 

They parted ways at the cliff with Uka and Ula travelling by the disturbing hair tentacles towards the town. Tel cast a look back to the shaded interior of the Isle, covered entirely by the canopy of the mighty oaks, then looked at the bundle in his arms. He had to admit that the place was actually rather beautiful and as good a place as any to be buried. But the surface was a stark contrast to the horror this child had experienced in the tunnels beneath their feet. The pair mounted up and Hearth perched himself on the cliff. With a powerful leap they were airborne and Hearth quickly opened his wings to bring them into a glide running parallel to the beach. With a series of mighty downstrokes they were gaining altitude and rose up above the town before wheeling towards the cathedral. With the morning sun bathing the roofs below they rapidly closed the distance and landed softly in the street before the mighty stone steeple. Tel wasn't a big architecture buff but he had to admit that the building was impressive. He dropped to the ground, taking care not to spill bones from their swaddle, and suddenly felt very self conscious. The townsfolk were waving and wishing them both a good morning and Tel felt very out of place. He ignored the polite gestures and hurried up to the large wooden doors with Hearth close behind. He knocked loudly and was grateful to have Hearth so close by for emotional support. The door swung open and an ageing man in clerical robes stood in the doorway.

"Ahh, you must be Tel, and this must be Hearth," the man said, extending his hand. "What a pleasure it is to finally meet you. My name is Zantus, I'm the cleric of Sandpoint. Are the two of you here for worship?"

Tel drew comfort from Hearths breath on his back and composed a reply, but couldn't bring himself to shake the offered hand.

"No. We have the remains of a child who was taken by Chopper and were hoping you could deal with it," said Tel, offering him the bundle of bones.

Zantus just smiled and used his extended hand to take the bundle.

"Of course, I shall inform the family and make the arrangements."

"You should bury the bones together. There's two sets, one of the boys and the other of his fox," Tel said almost sternly.

He felt it had to be said. Zantus just smiled warmly at the pair.

"I understand this is close to your heart and I shall do just that," the priest said. "Would you like me to pass along how I came by these to the family? They'd likely enjoy the opportunity to thank you, the last few years have not been kind to them I'm afraid."

"I didn't do it for them," Tel said flatly and he turned to leave.

"Thank you all the same," Zantus called to the back of Tel and the swaying tail of Hearth.

 

"Well, now that's over shall we see about your food?" Tel asked the great head at his side as they walked.

There was an enthusiastic nod and a warble for Hearth.

"Then let's head past the inn to grab some coins. Assuming you want cows again?"

Hearth cooed happily and set off after Tel towards the inn. The walk was downhill and the morning sun was climbing high into the sky which would have made it a pleasant experience if not for the pestering of the townsfolk. Hearth seemed not at all phased by their attentions which Tel was sure only encouraged them. He was considering stopping Hearth and asking for a lift, if only to get himself up a bit higher and out of the crowd. Though they were given a wide berth as they moved everyone seemed to be getting used to Hearths presence and showed little of the fear that had previously kept most of them quietly off to one side.

"Morning Tel, you probably don't know who I am, but you, ah, you saved me the night of the raid," came a woman's voice from his left.

He intended to just keep walking but Hearth stopped to investigate. He took a steadying breath, reminded himself of his commitment to their project and turned to face the speaker. Thankfully when he did Hearth was nosing her inquisitively and it had her on the back foot.

"I'm happy you're ok," he said stiffly.

"I made these just this morning, still warm from the oven, and wanted you to have some," the woman said, handing him half a dozen fruit buns.

"Thank you very much," he managed as he held them against his chest, "they smell excellent."

"My pleasure, and thank you again," she said before moving off back into the crowd.

Hearth watched her go and then turned a pair of overjoyed eyes on Tel who was struggling to hold his buns. When he realised Hearth was looking at him he looked to meet his gaze. He saw the joy in his friend's face and a warm smile crossed his features. Adjusting his burden so that it required only one arm he picked up one of the buns and took a bite. His nose was telling the truth and the bun was indeed delicious.

"All the little wins, hey my friend?" Tel said through his mouthful.

The smile on his face had nothing to do with the woman or the buns but everything to do with that look in Hearths eyes.

 

#######

 

An hour later an incredibly fat and full Hearth rolled about in the grass on the hillside overlooking the cattle, trying to flatten his intended sleeping spot. As soon as everything was crushed to the dragons satisfaction Tel took up his usual spot on the waiting foreleg. He pulled his coin purse from his belt and fished out his share of the glittering rubies he'd pried from the demonic statue that morning. His jewellers eye valued them highly. They were well cut, clear, and a deep red in colour making them near perfect stones.

"These are going to buy us more cows than even you'll be able to eat you gluttonous lizard," Tel said with a laugh.

Hearth gave a halfhearted whuffle into the grass, indicating how little he cared in his gorged state.

"Yeah, well they're going to buy me that comfy seat I've always wanted, too. Maybe even some armour. I'm not really sure actually, we've never been this rich before."

Tel couldn't remember seeing a jeweller in town but he decided he'd ask Ameiko about it when he got back. He'd need to change the stones for coins as although they made him wealthy they were difficult to spend. But that was this afternoons problem, for the time being he just closed his eyes and soaked in the sun.

 

His mind soon wandered to the happenings of the day. It had been an up and down affair he had to admit, and it was only midday. Despite the trying time he'd had under Choppers Isle he had to admit that it felt good to finally have a bit of purchasing power. He still had misgivings about the original motive for their adventure as risking life and limb for the nebulous idea of the greater good just seemed like a good way to end up dead. The dark path his thoughts wandered soon opened the jar he'd stuffed with his feelings about his failure to push through the enervating effects of the creepy skeleton's attacks. He found it easier to diffuse the feelings of inadequacy this time around but it was still a struggle won only by repeating Uka's words like a mantra. He focussed on the contented dragon at his back to change his train of thought and it worked admirably. It heartened him greatly to know Hearth was happy and somehow that made everything up to this point worthwhile. He smiled to himself. Now he just had to deal with the baggage of that worthwhile journey, and project Sandpoint would be the start of that. He could do this.

 

#######

 

The pair landed in Sandpoint mid-afternoon and made their way slowly to their hay shed. Their pace was hampered significantly by the fact that people were more inclined to greet them and offer them things than they were to get out of the way. It seemed that the last of the fear and distrust had been eroded and in its place had grown an acceptance and unspoken inclusion into the community. Tel had to admit he much preferred it the way it was before. It did however represent a success in Hearths project and the dragon dealt with the numerous delays with stoic determination and saintly patience. The delays in this case consisting of petting and food. Tel just watched the latest offering disappear into the dragons mouth with a smile. Mounted on Hearth he was far enough away from the crowd that it didn't feel crushing and he could hide, after a fashion, behind his friends horns as a shield from the attention. His joy at Hearths enjoyment beat out his own myriad anxieties and he even managed a couple of short responses to the barrage of salutations and small talk directed his way.

 

When finally they made it to the inns courtyard and left the crowd behind Tel dropped down from his perch.

"You're the biggest garbage guts I think I've ever encountered, Hearth. You ate three whole cows and then what looked like half the produce in Sandpoint. You even ate the basket those pastries came in," Tel chided.

Hearth just looked smug.

"And I'm pretty sure those were for me anyway."

"There you both are," came Ameiko's voice from the inns back door, "I was beginning to wonder where you'd flown off to."

Tel bit down the reflexive resistance to the idea that he'd need to check in with anyone.

"We neglected Hearths breakfast," he said instead.

Hearth warbled and cooed conversationally to Ameiko.

"Well, he's clearly got some pretty strong thoughts on that," she replied with an easy smile. "Also, Uka came by and told me that you found the bones of that poor kid Chopper claimed. That's the talk of the town at the moment, it's on the lips of nearly everyone. You two and Uka are bonafide heroes now. Saved the town from goblins and braved the evils of Chopper to return a child's remains to their parents."

"I noticed everyone seemed pretty forward."

"To be honest if it was anyone else at all it wouldn't have taken this long for it to get like this. But Uka had a creepy reputation and Hearth is rather intimidating at first sight," she said to the dragon more than to Tel. "I think you're beautiful though."

Hearth understood he was being complimented and straightened his stance. Ameiko turned her focus back to Tel to see him smiling and shaking his head.

"How're you finding it all?" She asked in a gentle tone.

"Finding what?"

"The attention," she clarified with a smile.

"Oh, well it's a bit overwhelming to be honest. But Hearth seems to enjoy it, the edible aspects at least."

"Which edible aspect was his favourite? I'll have to get him some."

"All of them apparently, including whatever they happen to come in."

Ameiko laughed and for the first time Tel realised that there was a real warmth to the sound. For a moment he was envious of her. Here he was a hollow wreck who didn't feel properly comfortable around anyone but Hearth and she was a warm, vibrant person who could grow rapport with anyone. He'd noticed her only in successive layers. The first was her good heart when she probably saved his life that night with a decent feed. The next had been her physical beauty. Tel remembered only a few days ago how her way with words had vexed him, but it now seemed increasingly hospitable. He wondered how much else he'd missed viewing the world, as he had, through an instinctual lens of survival.

 

"Well if ever you need to hide away from your adoring fans, or put him on a diet," she said jabbing a thumb at Hearth, "you're always welcome to come and hide out here."

"Thank you, we will. We're enjoying our stay."

Ameiko was overjoyed to hear Tel talk like that and if she'd heard it second hand she would've asked if they'd hit their head. For now she just counted the small win and hoped the trend would continue.

"Well, given your previous accommodation I'd hope my inn was an improvement," she joked, fishing for a compliment more to see what Tel would say than to pad her ego.

"It's the first roof I've enjoyed staying under for years to be honest."

"Well, I'm in absolutely zero hurry to have you out so feel free to stay as long as you like. Besides its not everyday you can say you have a dragon staying as a guest."

"Thanks for the offer, we'll definitely consider it."

"If you do decide to stay long term I'll work out a better price for you, stable tenants are always a boon to an inn," Ameiko said smoothly, hiding her anticipation at the response.

Talking to Tel was like playing blackjack in that the higher you push the more you have to gain but you don't want to push too far. That they'd consider her offer was more than enough for her to up the stakes. She wanted to hear that again.

"I wouldn't want to leave you out of pocket. I'd insist on a fair price."

Ameiko wanted to cheer. The lack of an immediate refusal was such a far cry from where they'd been  and the implication that he might seriously stay confirming her earlier hope. Time to cash out.

"So, Hearth has had a feed but have you eaten since this morning?" She asked.

"No actually."

"Well then, come in and I'll fix you something to eat," she said as she tossed her head towards the kitchen.

"Sounds good, thanks," said Tel and followed Ameiko towards the door.

 

A quick raid of the pantry later and Ameiko had Tel seated at the bench eating a meal of bread, cheese, ham and apples. Hearth was, as usual, in the kitchen up to his shoulders and looked almost disappointed when he saw the fire was already lit. What Tel remembered of his manners told him that it was poor form to be sitting here eating while Ameiko made ready the kitchen for the evening but he was too hungry to care. Besides, according to Ameiko, he was here just to keep her company while she worked. He supposed that in the interest of Project Sandpoint he ought to at least attempt to provide company.

"So, ahh," he began, not really sure where to take his attempt at communication but determined to try, "what's for dinner?"

Ameiko turned from her work with her spices.

"Oh, I thought Uka told you," she said, genuinely surprised.

"No, why would Uka tell me what you're cooking for dinner?"

"The boar she's gone hunting for? I was sure she said she told you."

"Oh, that. She told me she was going on a date."

"Wait, she told you she was going on a date? This I have to hear. Tel, spill the beans," Ameiko said with an enthusiasm Tel found intimidating.

He had no idea what to say. He didn't want to be spreading rumours about Uka but he also didn't want to just say nothing. So he settled on saying as little as possible.

"You know she went on the hunt with some guy called Foxglove? I had no idea that it was going to be for the inns dinner."

"Oh she told me about that. Tel if that's your idea of a date I think you need to brush up on your courting skills if you want to woo ladies, or men, if that's more your fancy," she said with a laugh.

"I've got no idea what people around here do," Tel admitted a little bitterly.

The bitterness came not from his ignorance of local customs but from memories of the customs of his old captors. Sensing the change in his tone and this sudden distance in his gaze Ameiko decided to try to lighten the mood.

"Well, when they're looking to stick something on a date it's not usually a spear in a boar," she said with an irreverent grin, letting the innuendo hang in the air.

When the joke didn't have the intended effect she grew worried and it only worsened when she noticed Hearth begin to take a concerned interest in the suddenly quiet man. The dragon cooed and looked at Tel pleadingly and then fixed Ameiko with the same plaintive gaze.

"Tel, I'm sorry if I offended you," she tried, aware that her attempt hadn't been the most amazing joke ever told.

Tel cursed inwardly. His mind had flooded with painful memories of rich men and the beautiful women at their sides cheering as spears stuck men and blood hit the sands. He smiled ruefully at another memory involving those same sort of people being bathed in dragonfire. But now was not the time to be mired in the past.

"It wasn't that, just a bad memory. Maybe this Foxglove guy is compensating for his own spear with the boar one," he said, hoping to recover his attempt at keeping company.

Thankfully Ameiko just laughed and the sound brought its usual, welcome warmth with it. Hearth gave a relieved roo and a happy warble at the breaking of the ice. Tel again wondered at himself when he had to admit he found the voice of Hearth more soothing.

 

"What's so funny?" came the glacial tone of Uka from the common room doorway.

"We were speculating on the nature of the thrusting taking place in the woods today," said Ameiko with a sly grin.

She knew the witch prided herself on her sense of propriety but she also knew that Uka was very much a woman of the world and brutally practical. Ameiko loved watching the two collide.

"I shall leave it to your virile imagination Ameiko. Suffice it to say that the penetrating that took place was not the first choice of my hunting companion. On that note, we did secure dinner," Uka said in a voice that didn't waiver once.

Ameiko laughed.

"So where is this noble suitor of yours Uka?" Ameiko asked.

"He is getting dressed, which, regrettably, I was also invited to attend."

Ameiko laughed again.

"I'm glad someone is enjoying my predicament. I had hoped the hunting trip would have satisfied his infatuation, but it seems to have only made matters worse," said Uka with a hint of frustration sneaking into her tone.

"Hah, I've been there. Just tell him it's never going to happen and be done with it."

"Ameiko not all of us are prepared to deliver that line down the length of a rapier, and I believe that's where a good deal of its efficacy comes from," said Uka.

"Well in my experience you either draw your sword or he'll draw his, if you know what I'm saying."

"I understood the implication there, yes. It's not that I'm worried about him forcing himself on me I just don't want some lovesick fool dogging my heels. Especially not one quite so useless."

"Well, you don't know if he's completely useless at all aspects of courtship," said Ameiko with a sarcastic wink.

"I've sold enough of my potions to his previous lovers to know not to bother holding my breath. Now, if we might move this conversation out of the gutter I believe the boar should be arriving in a state ready to cook shortly. I have an errand to run and will be back later for dinner."

"Sure thing Uka, I'm almost finished my preparations here. I'll see you for dinner."

With the conversation over Uka gave a smile to Ameiko and a nod to Tel, spun on her heel and walked out through the common room, glaring down any attentions from the people she passed.

 

"I love that woman," Ameiko pronounced with a chuckle when Uka was safely out of earshot.

"She's very, ah, accomplished," said Tel, grasping at what to say and drawing another laugh from Ameiko.

"She's definitely a woman of many talents. She cracks me up though. She's one of the most well spoken and mannered people in town and yet does probably the dirtiest job in town."

"Dirtiest?" Asked Tel, prompting Ameiko to elaborate.

"If anyone in town has any, let's call it medical, problems that they don't want to go to the temple for, they go to Uka. The number of bodily fluids she's been covered in is probably all of them and I'd bet my inn she's seen more of the anatomy of the town than anyone else. The day you met her at the festival, did you see what she was selling?"

"The pecker perker potions?"

"That pretty much sets the tone. A lot of the people in this town owe their lives to her work and her no nonsense approach to all things organic."

"So she specialises in... Those regions?"

"Hah, no, not by choice. If you've got a broken leg or a cut you just go to Zantus, but if it's something a bit more personal, or really serious, you go see Uka."

"I'll keep that in mind. She certainly did a good job on me after the raid, though I hope I won't need her skills again."

"You certainly don't need her potion skills after what I saw that night," Ameiko said, her wit dancing ahead of her usual caution around Tel.

 

Tel went bright red and nearly choked on his food and he realised too late he'd walked right into that one. His first reaction was to run and to flee the weakness of his position. Ameiko had one up on him, unlike on the beach that morning, and although it couldn't do material damage, it was still more than he'd like. Survival mode Tel would rouse Hearth, take off, and fly away. But then survival Tel wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place. Drawing strength from the dozing head by his stool he summoned his fortitude and got a second opinion. It was a joke, just a joke. He knew Ameiko possessed a quick wit and a sharper tongue but he also knew she'd proven she had a kind heart. Besides, he could take a little embarrassment for Hearths, no, their, project. It couldn't do actual damage, it cost him nothing really.

"Perhaps I should ask Uka about getting a few interesting facts about yourself," he managed with his cheeks still burning.

Ameiko burst out laughing. Partly in relief as she'd noticed Tel's pause and the turning gears and had been cursing letting her guard down. She was worried she might have pushed too far and almost sent him packing. But his attempt at a comeback was Tel trying to socialise she knew. At this point Hearth cracked open an eye to see what all the fuss was about and seeing nothing interesting tried to eat the unguarded food on Tel's plate. Tel just watched it disappear, unsure where to direct his attention. He decided he didn't really care about his food and so gave the raiding head a pat before turning back to Ameiko.

"Oh shit, I forgot you two hang around each other a lot," Ameiko said through her laughter.

"So you're feedin it at the table now are you?" said Bethana as she walked in from the common room.

"Pretty sure he poaches less of my stock than a certain halfling I know," Ameiko playfully retorted.

"Watch that mouth, pretty girl, lest it be sat on by this poaching halfling," she replied with a smile.

"Good to see you too, Beth," Ameiko said, returning the smile with the one she'd been wearing the whole time.

"Hello Bethana," said Tel, leaving Ameiko a little stunned.

Hearth snarled at the woman and blew a cloud of smoke over her then looked disappointed when she didn't react.

"I've got my eye on you," was all she said to Hearth before turning to Tel, "good to see you again, Tel. Now, Ameiko, I hear we've got a boar coming in for the spit so I figured I'd head over a bit early and help you prepare."

"You're too kind, Beth, thank you," said Ameiko as the halfling wasted no time making herself useful.

"Now, are you going to let me in on this hilarious joke you were sharing before I walked in?" Bethana asked.

"Well, that might be a bit _hard_ to do. You had to be there."

Tel smiled in spite of himself.

"I think I'll leave you both to it, thanks for the meal Ameiko," said Tel as he got up to leave.

"Take the misbehaving snake with you," called Bethana from her work.

"You're welcome Tel, make sure you stop by for dinner," Ameiko said as Tel put his plate in the washtub and shooed Hearth out of the doorway.

He paused and turned back to Ameiko.

"Does Sandpoint have a jeweller in town who would buy precious stones?"

"Yeah, up the other end of town, near the Cathedral. Why do you ask? Planning on burning down the competition?"

"No, I just came across some stones this morning and was hoping to change them for coin," Tel said, overcoming the urge to lie only by great force of will.

"I'm sure you'd get a good price for them with your reputation, look at it as compensation for all the pestering," Ameiko said with a laugh.

"I'll try," said Tel unenthusiastically.

"See you at dinner then."

"See you then," he replied before closing the courtyard door behind him.

 

Once he was mounted up Tel wasted no time in moving off towards the top end of the town and was surprised to find himself on roads he'd never travelled before. At least not without goblins chasing him. This town had a lot going on he realised as he passed a playhouse and a brothel, both catering as much to the locals as the travelling merchants. Despite his lack of local knowledge he found the jeweller easily enough and dismounted to enter. As he reached for the handle of the sturdy, iron-banded door a hint of nostalgia passed through his mind. His father's shop where he'd worked as an apprentice had had a very similar door. He opened it almost cautiously and a part of him half expected to see his father there behind the counter. No doubt his father would immediately berate him for something, Tel thought bitterly. A small bell ringing above him returned his attention to the present and its call was swiftly answered by a voice somewhere in the rear of the building.

"Coming," called the voice.

Tel said nothing and walked in, leaving the door open behind him so he could still see Hearth. A small man with eyebrows enough for two emerged from a door and smiled in greeting.

"Ahh, you must be Tel," he said, spotting Hearth lazing outside.

"I am."

"Wonderful, what brings you to my shop this afternoon? Are you looking to buy? Or maybe sell?"

"Sell. I've come across some stones that I wish to trade for coin."

"Splendid, splendid. Now, step this way to the counter and let's have a look at them. I'd be happy to pay you full market value after what you did for the town, you know."

"Thanks," said Tel as they made their way over to the indicated counter.

He produced the simple leather pouch he kept the rubies in and pulled a single red stone from within. He placed it carefully in front of the jeweller and waited for an appraisal. Although he knew little enough about the value of cows he happened to know quite a bit about precious stones. To his eye they were worth somewhere in the region of 500 gold each but he expecting to actually get quite a bit less than that.

 

"My, what a beautiful specimen. I should think that it was worth in the vicinity of 500 gold pieces, and I'd be happy to take it off your hands for as much. I wouldn't be caught dead making a markup on things sold to me by someone who'd saved so many lives."

Tel felt strangely uncomfortable at the implication that he was some kind of hero. The more practical part of him reasoned that if it landed a few extra coins in his pocket it was to be welcomed. But some other part of him reflexively recoiled from the spotlight, preferring the safety afforded by the shroud of anonymity.

"Deal," said Tel, his mind too busy chewing on his supposed hero status to offer much more.

"Excellent, I shall go and fetch your coins. Say, I don't suppose you have any plans to make any more of your jewellery do you? I found it quite sublime, though I admit I own none of it myself."

"Not at the moment."

"Well, if you ever do just know that you've got a waiting buyer," he said as he disappeared into the rear rooms.

Tel couldn't quite place why, but this place was making him increasingly uneasy. It was more than the bars on the windows feeling like a cell. It wasn't even the bitter memories of his father and his apprenticeship. It was the other memories this place conjured: Berry pies baked by his mother, running home cooked lunches to his father, naively daydreaming about his life with his crush. All those normal things were so far away now that they seemed almost alien, fictional even. He couldn't live that life, even if he tried.

 

"Here's your coin, Master Tel, five hundred exactly," said the jeweller on his return, placing a sack on the counter, "may I?"

Tel nodded and the jeweller scooped the ruby up in a velvet cloth.

"It truly is a beauteous example, isn't it?" he said, rolling it around his palm. "If you want to part with any of the other stones I hear in that pouch, you know where to come. Phillip Gosentine has got you covered."

"Thank you, Phillip," said Tel, taking care to use the mans name.

It felt like a step forward in Hearth and his Project Sandpoint to do so, trivial though it was.

"Ahh, no no, the pleasure was all mine. I hope you'll return soon Tel, and enjoy the rest of your day."

"Thanks, you too," he replied.

He paused momentarily, the end of a social interaction always an occasion for him, before turning to leave and closing the door behind him.

"Well my friend, I'd say we don't need to worry too much about money for a while," Tel said to Hearth as he sniffed at the bag of money.

It was good to be back with Hearth, his warm scales chased away the unease that had crept in. Making a point to wave back to the passing townsfolk he climbed atop Hearth's offered neck and they began the trek back towards the inn.

"I've had enough of people for the time being, Hearth. What do you say we do a little training before dinner?" Tel said a little sheepishly and with a consoling pat to Hearths brow.

He was admitting defeat, even if only temporarily and hot on the heels of a victory, and he felt bad about dropping their project. But he was starting to get emotionally exhausted.

Hearth gave a warble and a concerned coo, then a short drone.

"I'm fine my friend, just a little tired from working a muscle I don't use much."

Hearth gave a warble and quickened his pace. They passed the turn to the lane at the back of the inn and headed to their takeoff zone near the docks. With a bounding leap and a downstroke they were airborne. Hearth climbed into the afternoon sky, up and away from all the people below. Although they no longer held the menace they once did Tel felt much more comfortable up here and as they flew towards the wilds and their training clearing he felt better and better.

 


	5. Chapter  5

**Chapter 5**

 

The town was nothing but a collection of lights in the distance by the time Tel and Hearth were on their way back for dinner. They landed in their usual spot and Tel was struck by how much he'd come to associate this inn and their little hay shed with the idea of home. The light pouring out around the inns back door and the bombastic laugh of Bethana rolling from behind it were about as close to welcoming as Tel could find something. He pulled open the door and was immediately shoved into the room by Hearths head.

"Ack, get out of that, perfidious serpent," Bethana cried, batting ineffectually at Hearth, "I suppose it's too much to ask for a night of peace and quiet. Good evening Tel."

"Evening Bethana."

"I don't suppose he's this interested in everything you do, is he?"

"He's usually ambivalent."

"Wouldn't that be a blessing. Do you mind if I feed him the off cuts?"

"No."

Bethana scooped the cut ends of the carrots from their place on the bench into her cupped hand and held it out towards Hearth. He sniffed at it with interest and then obligingly opened his mouth. Bethana tossed the offcuts into the maw and rolled her eyes.

"Well, at least the pest now has a function," she said, returning to her work.

Tel watched on and found the relationship between those two quite mystifying. Usually he'd take offence at someone speaking ill of Hearth but given that he was in the room and seemed quite fond of her, despite her words, he found himself at a bit of a loss. Hearth was far from a fool though and clearly enjoyed what Tel reasoned must be their little charade.

 

"Have fun you two?" asked Ameiko as she entered the kitchen with an empty bottle in hand.

"Yes, thank you," replied Tel.

"You coming out for a plate of boar? It's really good if I do say so myself. Besides, poor Uka needs rescuing over at the antisocial table."

Tel paused, weighing his options.

"Good gods man, you ride around on that flying snake and raid demon-shrines for a hobby but you're scared of a room full of people?" Bethana laughed.

"Beth!" Ameiko cried, shocked, and more than a little worried about Tel's reaction.

"What, it's true," said Bethana, an unrepentant smile on her lips, "I can read it on his face."

Ameiko was at a loss for words and Tel just remained quiet. Hearth looked to Tel almost apologetically and clearly felt somehow responsible for his anguish.

"Tel, I'll go and get your dinner," said Ameiko as soon as she noticed Hearths movement.

"Everyone ok?" asked Bethana, looking around her suddenly stony company, "you've all gone quiet all of a sudden."

"It's fine Beth, don't worry about it. I'll be right back," Ameiko said and she turned for the common room.

 

Tel felt a sense of humiliation at Bethanas remark, one that was only starting to subside. Having his fears so clearly rubbed in his face was uncomfortable and made especially so by having it done in a group. It was true however. He didn't know how to respond either, so he'd said nothing, which had only deepened his humiliation. Hearths apologetic look had been the worst part of it though, and Tel hated the idea that Hearth might somehow feel responsible for this. Rationally Tel knew that Bethana had mean him no harm and so when Ameiko had gone to bail him out he did his best to muster his fortitude. He told himself that his pride was the only real victim here and he wasn't about to add Project Sandpoint to the list of casualties. Everything just felt like such a battle at the moment and although he'd had a chance to catch his social breath this afternoon he felt very near to the point of exhaustion. Still, he had a battle before him he didn't want to run, so he dug a little deeper.

"Wait for me," Tel said, walking after Ameiko.

"You ok?" she asked, concern evident on her face.

"It's been a big day."

"I see. Tel I know crowds aren't your thing and I hope you can forgive Beth and that stupid mouth of hers. I'm happy to go and get you dinner if you'd rather eat outside."

Tel didn't know whether to feel emasculated or not. Having these people cater to his weakness so obviously was almost more than his pride could take. But his rational mind again reminded him that Ameiko had always had his best interests at heart, and at least she was using words and not a rapier this time. The concept of care, coming from or going to anyone but Hearth was still foreign to Tel.

 

"I'm fine, and I won't hold it against Bethana," he said as they made their way through the packed common room towards the partially devoured roast boar sitting on the central table.

"I'm glad to hear it," she said warmly, "now, I hope you're hungry."

Before Tel could answer the question Ameiko had served him a truly gigantic portion of boar along with enough roast veggies to feed him on their own. Feeling more comfortable talking to Ameiko on her own and given that he crowd was still largely ignoring them he tried for a joke.

"So I take that is Hearths plate," he said with a hint of a smile on his face.

"Haha, no, _that's_ Hearths plate," she said tapping the colossal platter the feast sat on.

"Don't let him hear you say that."

"I won't tell him if you won't. But more seriously Tel, I'm glad you're here. It's nice to have you round for a bit of an occasion that's not the morning after a goblin raid."

"I'm feeling much less stabbed this time around too."

Ameiko laughed, that warm sound.

"Well, I'll leave you to your meal, I've got to get back to work."

"Thanks."

 

It didn't take him long to spot Uka, sitting by herself near the back wall. It was a romantic table for two setup, but with only Ula as a guest. The cat seemed quite content to survey the crowd with an air of superiority and only nibbled at her food as an afterthought.

"Where's your date?" Tel asked as he sat down.

"If you're referring to my hunting partner from this morning, which I assume you are as I have no date, then you'll be disappointed to hear that he took ill shortly after starting his meal."

"You poisoned him."

"I fear he may have found the seasoning disagreed with his digestion."

"Enjoying his company that much?"

"If anyone ever attempts to feed me again I will season their meal with something an awful lot nastier than an upset stomach."

Tel didn't know why exactly but he found Uka surprisingly easy to be around. Perhaps it was that she was a bit of an outcast, like him. He dismissed that thought as social standing meant nothing to him. Perhaps it was that she had quite a reserved manner and wasn't quite as personal in her conversations as Ameiko or Bethana. He dismissed that thought too; he felt reasonably comfortable with Ameiko. No, it was the fact that he respected her strength and ability a great deal. They'd faced serious danger together over the last few days and that had a strange way of putting things in perspective. The danger of an awkward pause seemed must less severe next to the possibility of impalement. For now though they both seemed happy to just eat in silence.

 

"Tel," Uka said, breaking their silence, "I'll have another look at those wounds in the morning and assuming everything is progressing as it has thus far I'll pull those stitches."

"Thanks Uka, I'll-" was all Tel got out before the inns front door burst open.

In strode a man of clearly exotic origin who shared Ameiko's high cheeks and olive skin, he was dressed in fine clothes and carried an air of authority. He yelled something in a language Tel didn't understand and the room fell silent in the yells wake. The man yelled again and advanced on the door to the kitchen. Ameiko strode out to meet the blustering intruder. There was a moment of silence before a back and forth yelling match broke out in that same language Tel didn't speak. He looked on, the desire to help stifled by emotional exhaustion and almost paralytic fear. In the high energy and unfamiliar environment his survivors mind had seized control and told him to keep his head down. A part of him did genuinely want to help but it just could not gain any ground against the onslaught of the survival instinct. The helpful part of him felt some small hint of shame creep in as the verbal exchange continued and Ameiko looked increasing strained. Then the man said something that stunned Ameiko into silence. Seeing her shock the man pressed his advantage with another phrase. Immediately Ameiko's face hardened and she struck him in the side of the head with her gravy covered ladle, splattering his fine clothes in the thick brown liquid. The man looked exasperated to the point of nonfunctional and just stood there for a moment, mouth agape. Then he spun on his heel, muttered something under his breath which twisted Ameiko's mouth into a snarl, and walked out.

"Well it looks like I'm going to need a clean ladle," Ameiko said to the retreating man and the room in general, "I wouldn't want my gravy to taste like FUCKWIT."

With that said she just turned and went back into the kitchen.

 

Tel watched her go, still at war with himself over what to do. Now that it was all over his survivors mind lost its iron grip and he felt ashamed of his inaction. He felt as much as heard Hearths soothing drone over the rapidly resuming common room hubbub and felt even more wretched. He tried to rationalise away his guilt. She hadn't been in any real, physical danger and she was clearly capable of taking care of herself. He still wasn't entirely sure why he should care at all if he was honest with himself, let alone why he should feel guilty for not intervening. It was too late now in any case, so he went back to his meal. Uka seemed to be of like mind on the course of inaction, but there was very real concern written on her face along with a torn look Tel was unused to seeing on the decisive woman. Ula just eyed him disapprovingly before returning to her inspection of the patrons.

 

"Good night, Tel," was all Uka said when she finished her meal.

Then she got up, went to the kitchen doorway, talked briefly with Ameiko, thanked her for the meal and left. When Tel had eaten all he could before he was sure he'd be sick he took his plate to the kitchen. Fear gripped him as he neared the doorway, and although it was similar to his fear of socialising it was subtly different. The sight of Hearth lent his tired mind strength though and he found the will to continue.

"Hi Ameiko, thank you for the meal," he said, unsure where this fear was coming from.

"That's fine Tel, thanks again for coming. I'm sorry about the altercation, I hope it didn't ruin the evening."

"No, it didn't."

"Glad to hear it."

The fear would not go away and he was just so damn tired, he had nothing else to give.

"I think Hearth and I will head to bed."

"It's been a big one. Sleep well you two, see you in the morning," Ameiko said with a smile.

"Night Ameiko, night Bethana."

"Night Tel, don't forget the lizard."

 

Hearth seemed troubled as they made their way to the hay shed and he fixed Tel with a strange look when they arrived.

"What is it my friend?" Tel asked with a rub of Hearths chin.

Hearth blew out a breath and wuffled then rolled and lowered his head for Tel to climb aboard.

"Oh, you want to go for a fly, eh? Sure thing."

But just as Tel went to mount up Hearth withdrew the waiting head and looked pointedly at their little cache of belongings at the back of the shed.

"You want to take our stuff?"

Hearth just kept looking expectantly towards their things and so Tel went and fetched them, yawning widely on his return. Satisfied, Hearth lowered his head again and the weary Tel climbed up into his usual spot.

"Ok Hearth, lead on," he said before yawning again.

Hearth promptly trotted off to their launch site and put them both into the air.

"I'm glad one of us is feeling energetic this evening," Tel said as the town shrunk away below them.

Hearth cooed.

"I'm fine, really, Hearth. Just had a... Rather busy day. All the excitement this morning, then all the talking and the new faces, then dinner. I'm still a bit out of practice."

Hearth warbled and gave what Tel thought was a nod.

"Lead on, I'll rest my eyes a spell I think," said Tel and he leaned forward, crossed his arms between Hearths horns and settled his head.

The moon and stars were beautiful and the night air was cool on his face. His body warmed by Hearth beneath him he just let the slow, rhythmic beat of wings rock him off to sleep.

 

####

 

Ameiko put away the last of the dishes and gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank the gods that's the last of them," Bethana said from beside her, "now that's done I'm off, unless you're needing a chat about the old man?"

"I'm fine Beth, really. Just tired."

"Suit yourself then, offer stands. Night."

"Night Beth, thanks a heap," Ameiko called after the waving halfling.

She was exhausted, on so many levels. The boar dinner had been a lot of work but it had been a great success too. She couldn't say the same about the visit from her father. He'd more or less just thrown her out of the family and it had taken a massive effort of will not to break down over it. Thankfully though she'd had plenty of work to throw herself into at the time. Now though she was just left with fatigue and feelings of hurt.

"Fuck," she sighed to the roof.

She threw the dish cloth across the room to the far bench; she'd deal with that tomorrow. She looked at her bedroom door but knew she wasn't likely to find much rest there with her thoughts in the state they were.

"Fuck you, ex-dad," she said as she pulled down a bottle of sake and a glass.

She looked at the glass in her hand and pulled down another. Tel looked like he'd had a right bitch of a day too and good old Beth hadn't helped him much with it. She decided he'd probably need a drink too. Besides, it'd be good to check in with him and see how he was going, maybe even smooth things out about Beth.

 

Bottle in one hand and glasses in the other she pushed the back door open with her butt and walked over towards the boys hay shed. It was quiet, but that wasn't too much of a surprise to her as they'd announced an intention to go to bed hours ago. They're probably asleep, she thought to herself. But she needed the company and she found the pair comforting in an odd way. Tel was starting to come out of his shell, intermittent though it was, and Hearth was magnificent. She allowed a smile to settle on her face as she thought over how far they'd come and she considered it one of her success stories. She reached the hay shed and looked in and was surprised to see it empty after Tel had expressed how tired he was. Ameiko sighed. It felt fitting that a shitty evening should keep getting shittier somehow, but she consoled herself with the notion that they'd gone for a fly, as they often went flying when Tel was feeling the strain of things, and would be back soon. She spotted the stool in its corner and decided to sit down and wait for them. Then she noticed the missing pack.

"Oh fuck," she said and the glasses dropped from her hand.

 

Briefly she considered running and fetching Uka but realistically she knew that neither of them would be able to find the pair, let alone figure out which way to start looking.

"Gods fucking damnit Beth," she said defeatedly to the moon, "and fuck you too Dad. Par for the course, fucking my shit up while crying about yourself."

Disappointed utterly she retired to her bedroom, kicked off her boots, changed into her nightie and took a swig from her bottle. She had sorely wanted to know that story too. But it was more than that. She loved Hearth, the dragon was the kind of creature that more people should aspire to be. She'd heard about his vicious streak during the raid from some of the guards but Hearth knew when to fight and when to play. If she was honest she cared about Tel a great deal too, despite him being a lot harder to like than Hearth. She knew what it was like to carry demons and she knew that Tel carried many, and for some strange reason that made him relatable. It also made her sympathetic to his plight and her good heart hated the idea that he might be quietly consumed by his demons. Hearth wouldn't let that happen though, she told herself. He'll try again, find another little community to help Tel into. Probably not one full of big mouths and idiot parents her drunken mind thought ruefully. She threw herself back onto her bed and looked at the bottle, nearly half empty. She put it on her bedside table somewhat clumsily and rested her head on her pillow. What a fucking day.

 

####

 

Tel awoke under a membranous wing and when he sat up he could see light leaking in along the ground. Detecting that his friend was awake Hearth retracted the wing and warbled in greeting as Tel rubbed his eyes against the light.

"Morning Hearth," Tel said with a smile.

He felt well rested, despite how exhausted yesterday had left him. Looking up at the sun though he could tell he'd slept in far longer than usual and on top of that they'd had an early night. Hearth must've been awake for hours, and yet stayed still so as not to wake him. That would also explain the wing, Tel thought, keeping the mid morning sun out of my eyes. He gave Hearth an appreciative stroke, then, suddenly, realisation dawned on him.

"Hearth, where... Where are we?" he said with a chuckle, "there's trees."

Hearth looked over at something and Tel followed his gaze to their training dummies, set up along the far side of their clearing.

"Ahh, so that's where we are. Thanks for this Hearth, last thing I remember last night is us getting airborne."

Hearth warbled.

"We should probably be getting back, Project Sandpoint works best in Sandpoint I feel."

Hearth huffed dismissively and just rolled onto his back, wings spread out to the sides.

"Huh, not real keen on Sandpoint anymore?"

Hearth tried to nod, but being on his back his horns worked against him and in the interest of not goring the ground it turned into a weird neck wiggle.

"So you're still keen on town."

Another neck wiggle.

"Just not today."

Hearth warbled.

"A day off it is then," said Tel happily.

The truth of it was that he very much liked the idea. Things had been getting overwhelming and it was good to be taking a step back. He was looking forward to spending time with just the two of them.

"Fancy another swim?"

Hearth rolled upright and warbled his approval. They mounted up, took off, and within minutes the pair were splashing each other with the cool waters of the Varisian Gulf.

 

####

 

Ameiko woke to someone knocking on her bedroom door.

"Mmmhmmm, yeah?" she managed through the milder-than-expected headache.

"Ameiko I called on Tel just now to remove his stitches like I'd arranged with him only to find him absent. Have you any notion where they might have gone off to?" Uka asked through the door.

Ameiko rolled over and pulled back the blankets only with incredible strength of will.

"No, I think they might have run off in the night."

"I did notice their possessions were missing. What do you believe precipitated this turn of events?"

"A big day followed by a crowd with a parent yelling at their child, if I had to hazard a wild guess."

"Sarcasm is not helping the situation Ameiko."

"I feel like the situation is beyond help actually. And to be honest at the moment I'm jealous of them. Sometimes I think I could quite happily fly away from my problems on the back of a dragon."

The air was soon cool through her light nightie and she used the discomfort to fuel the rest of the journey out of bed.

"Ameiko, I say this with all sincerity, you do an awful lot for this town and the people of Sandpoint love you dearly for it. You can call this magnificent inn you've created, and the town it stands in, home. You could call on nearly anyone in this town and they would owe you a favour, and those who didn't would help you anyway your list of friends runs that long. Tel has no home, but one friend and I suspect things in his past he can never outrun. Don't let your jealousy run too deep."

Ameiko had just finished getting dressed when Uka finished and tears began to well in her eyes. She opened the door to see Uka standing there in her usual pointed hat and made eye contact. Uka's usually stern face smiled warmly and Ameiko rushed forward to wrap the stunned witch in a tight hug.

"Thanks Uka, I really needed that. It means the world to me."

"Yes, well," said Uka, gingerly returning the hug.

Ameiko pulled back, wiped her eyes and tried on a smile.

"Thanks, I mean it."

"This is probably much ado about nothing anyway," Uka said in a lighter tone, "all animals are like sheep, once you get down to it, and I've never met a ram whose stomach didn't eventually get the better of them, among other organs."

Ameiko smiled, glad for the attempt at levity, even if she didn't quite get that last bit.

 

"How're you doing, girl?" Beth asked from where she stood at the bench, packing away the last of the breakfast dishes.

"I've been better. Oh my god, Beth, what time is it? I'm so sorry," Ameiko blurted on seeing the dishes.

"Long past time you had a sleep in and a day off's what time it is. Uka's right, you give a lot Ameiko, let us pick up this one. Besides, don't want worry lines on that pretty face now, do we?" Beth said with a wink and a laugh.

It was then Ameiko noticed that the wash-tub was, in fact, manning itself. The brushes scrubbing and the cloths drying quite of their own accord.

"The scope of that spell is quite wasted on the quantity of dishes I create at home, it's really no trouble at all," Uka said to the woman hugging her again.

"Now sit that toned butt in a chair and eat some breakfast you workaholic," Bethana said sternly and put a plate brimming with cooked breakfast delights on the table.

Ameiko smiled and sat down to eat.

"Now, as I shall be remaining here for the day what else needs doing?" Uka asked Bethana, who was only too happy to have a new face to talk to.

 The two of them were soon busily formulating a plan of action and Ameiko, looking around her, had to admit that she did have a great group of friends. Still, she couldn't help worrying about what was going on with Tel and Hearth.

 

####

 

Tel lay on a rock sunbathing while his cleaned clothes dried on Hearth. He scrunched his face and scratched at an especially spiteful piece of sea shell that was poking him in the butt.

"You know Hearth, sometimes I think beaches would be better without sand."

Hearth huffed, blowing a cloud of the devilish stuff towards Tel on his rock.

"Mean," said Tel, attempting to brush the sand off before it stuck. "Well, it looks like I'm going back in the water."

Hearth croaked into the sand and made no move to join Tel, who was complaining about having to get wet again.

"We'll need to head to that little stream where we did the clothes again too, otherwise my hair is going to be harder than you horns my friend."

Hearth didn't respond.

"Lazy bones," Tel chided playfully, but still no response was forthcoming.

As Tel tried to rinse the grit from his skin he found himself once again profusely grateful to Hearth. Not only had he put them both onto Sandpoint he'd also been the one to decide they needed a break, and it was doing the world of good Tel knew. Yesterday he was getting a bit over the town, but now he could almost like it. It was hard for him to put his finger on why he did, or even should, like the place though. The joy,as well as the subsiding of the guilt, he felt looking at Hearth and seeing what great shape he was in after only a few decent meals in a row clarified it for him. It was that Sandpoint was somewhere where the basics of survival were easier and taken care of, for the most part. It was somewhere where they could do more, be more, than simply survive like animals.

 

Wounds were also much less of a problem he thought to himself as he looked at the little loops of thread poking out of his chest and left leg. He was continually amazed at Uka's skills and the fact that the wounds were almost completely healed was noting short of miraculous. He picked at one of the scabs around the stitches when thinking about it made it itch and was horrified when the scab pulled away and a tiny bead of blood appeared.

"Well Hearth, it's been a pleasure knowing you. I think I might have just committed suicide by Uka."

Hearth, still acting as a clothes horse, pulled himself from his nap to inspect this claim. Seeing nothing to really worry about he wandered off and amused himself poking about in the rock pools. Once Tel had finished rinsing off he moved to join Hearth. It was that moment when Tel's belly decided to make its opinion on skipping breakfast known. It rumbled loudly enough to draw Hearth from his inspection of a particularly feisty crab.

"Of all the things about Sandpoint I hate, Ameiko's cooking is not one of them. What are the day off rules about food? Did you want to go on a hunt like we used to?"

Hearth just looked at him.

"Yeah, fuck that. Proper food it is. I better get these stitches pulled too, if we can find Uka. Then straight back of of town."

Hearth gently shook Tel's clothes off his back and he wasted no time in getting dressed.

"Stop past the cows on the way in?" said Tel as he pulled his tunic over his head.

Hearth warbled in agreement and lowered his head to Tel.

 

####

 

Three cows later a very slowly flying Hearth made his approach to the Sandpoint docks. He landed almost gingerly, his face wearing an expression between guilt and satisfaction.

"Thought I was going to have to go hungry for a while there, I didn't think you'd be able to fly with a belly so full," said Tel with an affectionate rub of Hearths head as he waddled along.

They received their usual string of greetings from the townspeople, but Tel just ignored them. It was his day off. They made good time to the back of the inn and Tel's belly rumbled loudly at the sight of the kitchen door. Tel dropped to the ground and let himself into the kitchen slowly.

"Hello?" he asked as he opened the door.

"Huh, just like sheep after all. You were right Uka," Bethana said.

"Indeed Bethana. Now, it's nice of you to join us Tel. We were beginning to wonder where you'd gotten to," said Uka a little sternly.

She looked at the puzzled expression on Tel's face and realised that he probably had no idea what he'd done to earn a frosty reception. Recalling what Ameiko had said she believed had sent the pair running Uka decided that perhaps a more gentle and educational touch was required. Didn't want to send them packing for good now that they'd come back after all.

"We were just down the coast," said Tel looking from Uka to Bethana.

"Perhaps we might speak together, outside?" Uka said.

"Ahh, sure."

Uka herded Tel out into the courtyard and shut the door behind them.

 

"Hello Hearth," said Uka.

Hearth warbled happily in greeting.

"Did the urge for a swim strike the pair of you in the dead of night?" Uka asked in a lighter tone and with a small smile.

"What? No. What's going on Uka?"

"Your sudden and unannounced departure caused concern."

"I don't follow."

"Tel you disappeared in the middle of the night without telling anyone what you were about or where you were going."

"So? I don't need permission to go where I please," said Tel defensively and he immediately felt the stress from yesterday return in full, crushing, force.

So much for a relaxing day off.

"Tel, it's not that you require permission. It's just a courtesy you extend towards those who take an interest in your wellbeing, to assure them nothing is amiss."

"Oh, ahhh..."

Uka looked at Tel and felt a great deal of pity for him. Clearly he had no idea that someone other than Hearth would actually care about his wellbeing. Uka decided that now was the time for a bit of a risk on her part, she'd just lay the truth of the matter out and see how Tel took it.

"Tel, we care about you, both of you, a great deal."

 

Tel had no idea how to react or what to say. He could not remember the last time anyone had admitted to caring about him in so sincere a way. Part of him tried to rationalise this so called care as way of getting something from him, but it rang hollow. Hearth moving caught his eye and he saw him lower his head to within a hairs breadth of Uka's. He cooed and let the sound roll on into a soothing drone. Uka hesitantly placed her hand on the offered nose, then relaxed once it was there.

"I think what Hearth is saying, what we're both saying, is that, ahh, we're sor... We didn't mean to cause concern. We'll leave a note next time, or let you know."

The darker part of his mind wondered why he need apologise to these people, they only wanted him for the protection Hearth offered their little town. Despite the return of yesterday's anxieties weighing his mind he balled his fists, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and steadied himself. He smiled and let the breath out in a snort when Hearth nosed his cheek.

"I'm sorry for any grey hairs Uka. I'll be more mindful in future," he said as much to spite his dark thoughts as to reaffirm his commitment to the project.

"I still hope that one day you'll feel cared for and don't have to be told. On that note, Tel, I have news. I have purchased the land known as Choppers Isle and have named you co-owner on the deed. Given my somewhat expanding role in the happenings about the place I thought a move closer in might be in order. The site would also be ideal for you and Hearth to establish a more permanent accommodation. Not that Ameiko would ever kick you out mind, merely that you've precious little room in your shed."

For the second time in the conversation Tel was at a loss for words.

"You needn't worry about visitors pestering you either. I plan on doing nothing to dissuade the local superstitions surrounding the place and I know you're not to be put off by the occasional effigy."

"Thank you Uka."

Tel didn't know if he'd decided to stay in Sandpoint long term yet however, and the thought of setting up a base here scared him. Consoling himself with the thought that they could just fly away soothed his worries a little.

 

"Now, let me see to those stitches. It'll only take me a second to remove them. Then it might be nice if you were to go and tell Ameiko that you've returned," Uka said with a smile.

"Oh, yeah."

"I fear she took the discovery of your absence the hardest."

Guilt poked Tel again, the pin of last night prickled in his mind and a second rushed to join it. The pulling and pain as Uka removed the stitches faded the already feeble assault from his conscience and although he still wasn't sure why he should care enough to be feeling this way he had to admit that he did.

"It, ahh, must have been a rough evening for her."

The tone of Tel's voice made it clear to Uka that it was more of an intellectual inference than empathy. Still, it was a start. She resisted the urge to berate Tel for where he'd clearly been picking at his stitches and instead decided to encourage him to go see Ameiko.

"Indeed it was trying for her. But I'm sure making her aware of your return would do much to ease her mind. She said she was headed into the woods to the east of town, as Bethana and I are holding down the inn for her today."

Tel felt that easing minds wasn't really his job. Despite all this talk of caring he chafed under the idea that because these people cared he magically owed them all this accountability. So much for my day off, he thought as Uka pulled the last stitch.

"I'll go tell her I'm back once I've grabbed lunch. Thanks for pulling my stitches, Uka," said Tel flatly.

 

Watching him fetch his lunch Uka wondered if perhaps prodding Tel might have been the wrong move, but she felt that the result would likely be positive for both him and Ameiko. Chatting to the easygoing woman would likely help Tel and for Ameiko getting to chat to Tel would be its own reward. There was no denying that Tel was tightly wound last night and it had gotten bad enough to prompt a temporary retreat. She needed to manage this carefully. Looking at the situation she had to admit that her motive for manipulating Tel into staying had expanded from simply helping the town, to caring for him and Hearth, and now she felt that she could add his effect on Ameiko to the list. That his leaving would vex the woman was reason enough to get him to stay. Perhaps while he was out of town she could engineer another encounter with Shayliss, the first had proved a great success after all. Uka nodded imperceptibly to herself. People management was something she was good at.

 

Tel was glad to leave the town behind him as Hearth plodded along the bridge leading across the river from Sandpoint to the mainland. He was less thrilled about their destination though. Firstly 'east of town' wasn't a lot to go on, but he had faith in Hearths ability to locate Ameiko. Secondly he was still chafing under the expectations that seemed to come, unbidden and unwelcome, with this whole caring thing. This was supposed to be his day off, but it was shaping up to be only marginally less of a pain in the ass than yesterday. They reached the end of the bridge and Hearth stopped. He gave an unsure roo. Tel knew it had nothing to do with his ability to find Ameiko.

"I know my friend, so much for our day off."

Hearth warbled but remained motionless.

"This one is my call, eh?" he said to the waiting Hearth.

Tel considered his options. They basically boiled down to 'run off' and 'see Ameiko', resentment of expectations versus guilt. He had no idea why he was so worried about this and why it felt similar to last night. All this agonising was just making him anxious.

"Ugghh," he griped.

Hearth just stayed still, letting Tel make whatever decision he felt best.

In the end Tel was determined that it would something positive that decided it. He was on his day off from Project Sandpoint but that didn't mean throwing out their progress so far. He weighed the pros against each other, hang the cons. A chance to sunbake and relax versus Ameiko's warm laugh.

"Alright Hearth, lets go find her."

 

####

 

Ameiko relaxed back against the trunk of her favourite tree and let the warm afternoon air soak into her. A bird sang somewhere in the trees and the sun shining on her bare feet was deeply soothing. Water gurgled in the tiny stream nearby and she opened her eyes to look up at the canopy of her backrest. She just lay there and watched the sunlight play on the shifting leaves as it dappled the branches. An open bottle of sake sat next to her half-eaten lunch and her thoughts wandered to her inn. Uka and Beth would be just finishing the lunch cleanup. How long had it been since she'd done this, she wondered? Instead of actually trying to remember she just picked up her samisen and plucked out a tune that her mother had played to her once, long ago. She felt tears well in her eyes as memories of a happier time, made even rosier in hindsight, provided a welcome antidote to the trials of the present. She couldn't believe her father had disowned her like that. They'd had their differences and never been particularly close but he'd always just sort of been there. No more now. She was alone. Mother dead, brother disappeared, father disowned.

 

Her mothers tune came to pass, as did everything happy in her life, and she didn't bother to stop the tears falling down her cheeks. She searched her mind for another tune and found that one of Beth's favourites came to mind. The rosy-cheeked halfling danced through her mind to the music, her skipping feet and twirling skirts chasing away some of the darkness. The darkness thrived on the attention however, and soon the dancing figure was no longer the focus of her minds eye. In the murk shapes danced as they played out scenes of the past. She was in love once, with a man with whom she set out on an adventure. She was so young then she realised, though at the time she'd felt old enough to take on the world, despite it not being that long ago. Their adventure had ended in horror and she alone escaped it, but not empty handed. She'd been so defeated. Crushed by the weight of the loss of her lover and her friends. She watched the dancing halfling come back into focus as she recalled the day she'd quit adventuring. The day she bought the inn. What a coward she was, to take the gold her companions had died for and spend it on something so mundane. The tune ended in its time and her tears resumed. Tears at the recollection of her loss, but also at the shame of her cowardice.

 

Maybe that was why she found Tel and Hearth so compelling, she thought. They hadn't given up the adventurers lifestyle. They still lived by their wits and the seat of their pants, free to go where ever the inclination took them. They were haunted by loss too, just like her. But unlike her they didn't let it ground them. Those years past, when she was still gripped by the passion of young love, she'd built this perfect image in her head of loved ones adventuring together. It had been pure and exciting and devoid of the brokenness that afflicted the people in its reality. Perhaps that's why she wanted to fix Tel, to prove to herself that you could come back from these things. She somehow doubted either of them ever would.

 

####

 

Tel looked at Ameiko where she sat against the tree, tears running freely down her cheeks. The song that had lead them to her had stopped and he now thought he saw why. Hearth advanced eerily quietly and brought them to within arm’s reach of the oblivious Ameiko. Tel dropped silently to the ground.

"Hey," he said.

Ameiko opened her eyes slowly.

"Tel, Hearth, it's so good to see you both," she said with a smile breaking through the pain.

"It's, ah, good to see you too."

"You came back!"

"We were only taking a day off. Yesterday was a big one," said Tel, rubbing the back of his head.

"Really? I was worried you were gone for good."

"Hearth doesn't give up that easily."

At mention of his name Hearth pushed into the conversation, lay down on his side as close to Ameiko as he could without crushing her and prodded her with his snout.

"Thanks Hearth, you're such a sweetheart," Ameiko said, wiping her face on her sleeve.

"He wants you to sit on him."

Ameiko pushed herself to her feet and, samisen in hand, moved to stand by Hearth's belly.

"He's beautiful," she said, stroking his black scales.

"That he is. Climb on, he's surprisingly comfortable," said Tel, sitting in his usual spot on the crooked foreleg.

"Are you sure he wont mind?"  
"I'm quite sure," Tel replied evenly.  
Not wanting to break the mood by pressing her concerns Ameiko swallowed her worries. She looked at her options presented in the limbs below and decided on a spot sitting on hearths top hind leg. The lower one was too covered by the upper to make a comfortable seat but it would make an easy step up. She removed her boots and stepped onto the leg. Ameiko looked for somewhere to sit before Hearth scooped her up on his snout and shovelled her onto his flank. Once she was sitting on his side Hearth warbled happily, stretched his neck out, and went to sleep.

 

"He likes you," said Tel with a smile.

"I'm honoured."

"I doubt that's how he wants you to feel about it. I think he'd rather you just relax."

"Hah, he is very forward with his affections, isn't he. I just didn't want to scramble all over him like a cushion," Ameiko said with a gentle rub of Hearth.

"He doesn't mind."

"But I didn't want to kick him in a tender spot and hurt him."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that. I once saw him scratch himself on a tree stump so hard he uprooted it," Tel said with a grin and a slap to Hearths flank.

Ameiko laughed. It felt good to do so. She couldn't thank these two enough for showing up when they did. It was good to see them again, and to know they weren't leaving. But they also helped chase away her darker thoughts, especially Hearth with his aura of power and warmth. He was very aptly named.

"Hearth is a fine name for him. It describes him perfectly."

"Yeah, it does."

"So. How much of that did you see?" asked Ameiko, a little ashamed of herself.

"Does it matter?" Tel said with a shrug, "I've broken down in front of you."

"No, I guess not."

Ameiko felt a great deal of support from Tel's matter-of-fact reply, but struggled to come up with anything of her own.

"You're taking the day off too?" Tel asked, trying to keep the conversation going when he noticed Ameiko struggle.

"Yeah, last night was a rough one. Dad being a dick and then thinking you two had left knocked me round."

"We're really sorry about that, Ameiko. Uka reminded us to let you know in future."

"Of course she did. All the same, thank you Tel, and you too Hearth. It means a lot. I can't imagine checking in is something that comes naturally to you."

"Not really."

"So I take it it was just the two of you for a while, huh?" Ameiko said gently.

"Yeah."

"He seems like he'd be great company though."

"He is. Look, Ameiko, I'm a little rusty on this kinda thing but I just wanted to thank you for all you've done for us. Really, thank you," said Tel sincerely.

Ameiko was stunned, so Tel elaborated.

"I might not have survived that fever without your kindness that night. Your help with the festival market was good too."

"Ha, well, I couldn't let you starve now could I?"

"You very well could have."

"Not everyone is out to get you, at least not round here. You still have to tell me the story of what shaped that thinking one day. It seems like it'd be the kind of story that's best gotten off your chest."

"Similar to the kind that leaves you crying in the forest?"

Ameiko lowered her gaze.

"Yeah, I guess so. Some things just suck, don't they."

"It's behind us now," said Tel without much conviction.

"Yeah, doesn't stop it sucking though. But we just need to keep living I suppose. Besides, it's hard to find someone with shared experience who'll understand," Ameiko said, hoping Tel would take the hint.

She wasn't sure what made her so keen to talk to him, he was a pretty terrible conversationalist, but she felt oddly at ease around the pair.

"Hearth is a great listener, and he's very understanding."

"I'm sure he is," she said, patting her seat. "You've obviously been together a while now."

"Yeah."

"I imagine you've been through a lot. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always here."

"Uhh, thanks."

"I thought we discussed how these conversation things worked best when both participants actually participated?" Ameiko said with a tired smile.

"Heh, you're right. I'm just distracted."

"By what?"

"Nothing."

"Gods damn it, Tel. Really?"

"I just, ah, don't have much practice talking. Like this. Or at all, actually," said Tel, painfully aware of lack of social grace.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"Yeah, but that's part of the process I think," he said with a resigned sigh.

"You always seem so uncaring of the world around you, or what people might think of you. I have a hard time picturing you fretting over making a good impression."

"I don't care about other people, to be honest. They just come and go. It's the trying to care that's hard."

"Trying to care?" Ameiko asked, unsure where she fitted in Tel's cares and worried at what the answer might be.

"Hearth and I cared about nothing but surviving for a long time. It gives you a very different set of priorities. Safety, food, water. Everything else is inconsequential."

"Having trouble readjusting to a more normal life?" Ameiko asked seriously.

"I don't think I could live a normal life if I wanted to, Hearth made sure of that. But I don't want to. Hearth is worth any price. But, yeah, towns are a bit of a culture shock."

"I don't think anyone has ever accused Sandpoint of culture before," Ameiko replied with a laugh.

Tel gave a smile and a snort.

"What about you? Surely you've got something interesting in your past. You don't develop a physique like that for inn-keeping, nor do you need a rapier like that one."

"Observant. I was an adventurer, briefly, and used the money I made buying the inn. But what about you, Tel, you any good with a blade?" Ameiko said with a grin.

 

Tel noticed the darkening of her eyes at the mention of her adventuring career and decided that must be where her demons were kept. Knowing what it was like he rolled with the somewhat awkward change of topic.

 

"I'm ok, I guess."

"Maybe I could show you a thing or two, I'm pretty good," she said, sitting up.

"If you're sure."

"I'm sure. Come on, it'll be fun. Besides it's better than wallowing in the pain of the past."

"Ok then," said Tel, not entirely convinced.

A big part of him still didn't care and he found that, if he wanted to, he could look at Ameiko like she was just a particularly noisy plank. But, he didn't want to and he was trying his hardest to care. After a brief search of the area they found a pair of sticks that reasonably approximated their respective swords.

"You ready?" Ameiko asked as she turned to face Tel.

"As I'll ever be."

Ameiko was slightly apprehensive. She wanted to be the better swordsman of the two of them and maintain her dominant edge. On the other hand she didn't want to thrash him so badly it caused offence and damaged the rapport they'd built. She decided she'd start by probing Tel's guard and get the measure of his skill.

 

She made an exploratory jab at Tel's side and was surprised at the speed with which he raised his armoured bracer to block it. Tel stepped forward while her weapon was out wide and poked her gently in the ribs with his short stick.

"That was impressive," she said with a laugh.

"It would have been if you'd made more than a test strike."

Ameiko smiled wickedly and launched a series of quick thrusts, starting low and then suddenly coming in high at Tel's left shoulder. He was quick, but not quick enough as his previous block had left his bracer low and useless. She landed a solid hit on his collarbone and he winced at the pain.

"Sorry Tel, I didn't mean it to actually hurt," she said, trying to keep the pride from her voice.

"Eh, don't worry about it. I've had worse. Better to come across that trick during a stick fight than a real one," he said, rubbing his tender collarbone.

"That's very true. Actually you should really invest in a suit of armour, Tel."

"I've never really had the opportunity."

"Well, you do now. Why don't you sort one out tomorrow? I can point you to a great smith in town."

"Ah, sure. I guess."

"Seriously Tel, you and Hearth live exciting lives of adventure, some armour is just common sense," she said, jabbing her stick at his rubbing hand.

"That's not how I'd describe our life."

"Mundane hardly fits now, does it? In any case it'll save me having to give you another shirt."

 

Before Tel could reply or argue Ameiko fired another few jabs at his belly, which he blocked just in time. Her longer stick gave her the advantage at range and so that's where she'd keep him. She'd discovered Tel to be a solid, if unremarkable, swordsman and that he'd look to close the distance between them if he got the chance. She gave ground to his advances and kept him on the defensive with stabs high and low. Suddenly he lunged at her right. He was quick, but she was slightly quicker and she managed to dodge left. Too late she realised his ploy however as her back-pedalling foot was hooked out from under her by Tel's boot. She felt herself overbalance and threw a wild left to right slash across her front to force Tel back. He jumped back as she'd predicted and she decided it was time for a trick of her own. She threw her hands behind her head, rolled back onto her shoulders as she fell, pulled her hips into the air and then threw her feet down while pushing off with her hands. She came flying back up to standing just as Tel was renewing his assault. He looked surprised as she parried what he thought was going to be a winning move, but quickly recovered. Ameiko made a slash for his right thigh and instead of blocking he gave ground and twisted to the left. Tel advanced again and Ameiko again gave ground. She was surprised he would try a tactic he already knew didn't work until her foot struck something as she went to step back. She tried to recover her balance with the other foot but it too struck something. She threw back her arm to stabilise herself but to no avail. With a distinct lack of her earlier grace and agility she toppled over backwards and landed on her back with a thud.

 

Propping herself up on her elbows she realised she'd tripped over Hearths tail.

"I guess that's a point to me," Tel said with a satisfied smile.

"Pffft, having Hearth help is cheating," she chided playfully and lobbed her stick at Tel.

He ducked under its path easily.

"You're still on the ground. A win is a win."

"Alright, fair enough. It's still a dirty trick though."

"Not as dirty as you are."

Ameiko cocked an eyebrow. Tel paused a moment, then went red.

"Because you're lying on the ground, in the dirt."

"Sure, Tel, I believe you."

"I've resigned myself to never besting you with words," he said defeatedly.

"Implying that there's some sort of competition?"

"I didn't mean to," said Tel, and he extended the prone Ameiko a hand.

She pulled herself to her feet and dusted some of the clinging leaves and twigs from her clothes.

"So, where'd you learn to fight?" she asked as she fetched her stick.

"I had a bit of instruction when I was part of the militia."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"What?"

"So the Chelish militia fights with a short sword and an armoured gauntlet? Usually a shield and sword or a spear or even a halberd are the weapons of soldiers. Light blade and gauntlet is something you'd hear about pit fighters using..." Ameiko trailed off as the sudden realisation hit her.

Her assumption was proved correct a moment later when Tel's face darkened.

"Tel I'm so sorry," she said.

Tel didn't reply. Ameiko's heart broke for him. It explained so much.

 

"I don't need your pity," Tel said defiantly.

"Tel, it's not like that."

"Really? I think it is."

"Fuck me Tel. How should it be then? I learn something horrible happened to you and what? I'm supposed to like it?" Ameiko said exasperatedly.

"I... Well, no. But," Tel said, struggling with the cocktail of emotions forming in his gut.

"There's no but, Tel. Being a gladiator is not something sane people enjoy. I care about you, a lot actually, and I hate to hear such things. I want to help if I can."

Tel had heard about enough of all this caring and the expectations it entailed. He felt the mix of emotions churning in his belly begin to boil.

"You know what? I don't care! I don't want to be coddled and I sure as hell didn't ask for it."

"I'm not asking you to be coddled, you stubborn idiot. I only offered to help you!"

"Why the fuck would I need your help?"

Ameiko realised she had raised her voice too and suddenly felt ashamed of herself. She just couldn't seem to win lately. She was stressed and had a lot on her own plate, but her conscience would not tolerate giving less than everything to someone so clearly in need. Tel is in a lot of pain, she told herself to take the edge off her outraged temper. He's just like an injured animal biting at the hand trying to mend its wound. She left herself vulnerable and extended an olive branch.

"Because I've... I've got something horrible haunting me too, Tel, and I know how fucked up it is to go through it alone. And I know you've got Hearth, and I know that a better friend is impossible to find, but I think he... Isn't troubled by what happened the same way you are?"

 

Tel just stopped and turned to meet the sympathetic gaze of Hearth, who pulled himself around to nuzzle Tel. In those pained, draconic eyes he saw a friend urging him to tell the truth. He could tell the truth to Hearth, if not Ameiko, and so he spoke to his friend for the benefit of the outsider present.

"No, he's not. He's so much stronger than I am, and my weakness is bringing us both down. I broke where he endured and my brokenness is ruining everything. Hearths infinite support and patience with me should be enough to fix me and I hate myself for not being able to do it," he said holding Hearths chin with his hands and his gaze with his own.

"Perhaps Hearth knows that you need something he can't provide, and that's why he sought out Sandpoint," said Ameiko tentatively, "There's nothing wrong with going to a cobbler for shoes if you can't make them yourself."

Tel just stood in quiet contemplation, so Ameiko continued.

"Tel I'm blessed with amazing friends, but there's some things only someone with a similar experience can truly understand."

When Tel lowered his head but didn't respond she decided not to press further and changed the tone of the conversation.

"But, it's theoretically our day off. We can talk about it when you're feeling up to it. Just... Just know that I care and that I don't expect anything of you, ok?"

 

Tel turned to look at Ameiko.

"Thank you, and, ahh, I'm sorry," he said tiredly.

"So am I Tel," she replied with a warm smile.

A large part of Tel wanted to be swallowed by the ground after telling Ameiko those things. She was the first person he'd ever actually told, straight out. Though he suspected Uka had put a lot of it together herself, this was different. He had trusted Ameiko. Well, he had trusted Hearth, who seemed to trust her. It had still made him feel vulnerable and he hated it. But Ameiko had shown nothing but kindness in the face of his revelation, even going so far as to continue offering support after he'd been a jerk. Fuck it, he decided, this is where he needed to be brave if he ever wanted to see project Sandpoint succeed. In for a copper in for a gold.

"You're right, you know. At least about what I think Hearth is trying to do here. We've taken on Sandpoint as a project to, sort of, get me... Back. I think," he said, hoping Ameiko could piece together what he was trying to convey.

"I understand that, Tel. You spent a long time in what must have been hell, and I can guess it's hard to bounce back from something like that, but I want you to know that if you ever want to talk about it I'm here. But there's no pressure to, of course," Ameiko said with a smile.

She looked to Hearth for support and when she looked into his eyes she was sure she had his blessing. Confident of that she took a calculated step forwards and stroked Hearths forehead in an attempt to lend weight, by virtue of his approval, to what she said to Tel.

"Yeah, well I promised to tell you that story at some point, didn't I?" Tel said.

 

Part of him was screaming internally at the very thought of telling someone else that story, and the prospect of actually doing so made him feel physically ill. It wasn't just the fact that the truth gave people power, or that it would imply a hefty bounty on their heads, it was more that he'd have to remember in detail what he'd spent so long trying to forget. But somehow, now that he'd told Ameiko of their project, he felt it could possibly be for the best. Hearth had always seemed to like her and seeing his approval of her words gave him cause to seriously consider sharing that memory- at some point, maybe, in the future. He smiled in spite of the tsunami in his thoughts and figured that if it was a step towards living a fuller life with his best friend he'd find the courage to take it when it came time.

 

"I'll be here if you want to tell me Tel, I won't try to coerce it out of you," Ameiko said warmly.

"Thanks Ameiko," he replied and put his hand on Hearths nose for comfort.

"But today, seriously, is our day off. With that in mind lets do something fun," she said with a grin.

"Like, what?" asked Tel suspiciously.

"Like sparring. You're not bad, mr, but practice never hurts," she announced and lunged at Hearth with her stick.

Hearth exploded into action and rolled out of the way while trying to cover his escape with a diversionary wing. Ameiko jumped back from the sweeping wing and Hearth made good his roll. He was soon on his feet and lashing his tail in anticipation.

"Full belly feeling better, my friend?" said Tel as he brought his stick to the ready.

"And you two can't team up!" she cried as she rushed Hearth with a series of jabs.

Ameiko realised that she was trusting Hearth a lot here. She was trusting he knew it was a play fight and that even if he knew he'd pull his punches. But she knew the pair trained together and that Hearth was far smarter than any animal she'd ever encountered. Even though she trusted that she was in no real danger Hearth was still an incredibly intimidating opponent and something primal in her mind was very much urging her to run. To her absolute elation she heard Tel laugh then move to join the melee. In short order a three way combat broke out that raged on, in varying intensity, for the rest of the afternoon.

 

####

 

Ameiko was pinned beneath Hearth's mighty paw when his head shot in low, gently bit Tel's boot, and yanked him off his feet. A split second later Tel had righted himself but as soon as he did Hearths jaws flashed down to cover him to the waist. Ameiko watched from the ground and laughed at Tel's capture in the slobbery prison.

"Looks like he wins again," she said, tapping Hearth's paw to indicate surrender.

"It wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't so smug about it," came Tel's muffled voice from Hearth's mouth.

Hearth released both his prey and wore a smug expression before blowing smoke over Tel as he inspected his clothing for holes. Those teeth were razor sharp but never once broke skin. Clothing, however, was not afforded the same level of care and Tel poked an experimental finger through a new hole in his sleeve.

"This is why we can't have nice things," he said jokingly, and earned another cloud of smoke.

"I hope you know Hearth, I let you win," said Ameiko as she pulled herself to her feet.

Hearth croaked out a laugh and gave Ameiko a playful nudge.

"I do worry about it sometimes," said Tel, "I don't think he's quite picked up the danger swords and other weapons actually pose to him. I think he just judges a threat by the creature running at him, regardless of their armament."

Hearth looked back to Tel and warbled happily.

"That's where you come in Tel, you're on threat assessment. The pair of you make a formidable team," Ameiko said.

"Thanks," Tel replied, not totally convinced.

 

Ameiko looked up to the canopy and saw that the hour was drawing late.

"We should get back Tel, Shalelu is due in tonight with word of the goblins," she said.

Tel nodded.

"Here's hoping it's much ado about nothing. I prefer stick fights to real ones," he said with a subconscious glance to Hearth.

"Only one way to find out. Besides, I'm looking forward to eating a dinner I didn't have to cook."

"Yeah, it's nice to have a day off. Did you want a ride back into town?" Tel asked with a nod to Hearth.

"Do I want to ride around on a beautiful dragon? Tel what kind of question is that?"

"Err... The honest kind?"

"Company with a creature as magnificent as Hearth isn't an everyday occurrence for most of us, remember?" Ameiko said with an exaggerated eye roll.

"Did you want a ride or not?"

"Of course, fool."

 

Tel mounted up on the lowered neck and helped Ameiko up after him. Once everyone was comfortable Hearth set off back towards town at a leisurely pace and took a route with plenty of detours. Tel was beginning to think that for the first time ever Hearth was lost, but he dismissed the thought as ridiculous this close to the town. He put it down to a flight of whimsy on Hearth's part and turned his attention to his riding partner. Ameiko was happily soaking up the experience of dragon riding and was closely examining Hearth himself as they moved. It then occurred to Tel that perhaps Hearths sedate pace was more for Ameiko's benefit than anything else. Perhaps she needed it. There was clearly something troubling her, given her tears under the tree, and Tel wondered whether it was solely because of her fight with the old man or whether it was because of the past trauma she alluded to. Perhaps it was a bit of both he decided. Either way it was clearly unpleasant for her and he rejected the ability to detach and not care at all about her. Instead he decided he would try to do something about it.

 

Being new to the idea of caring about anyone other than Hearth, Tel found that he didn't really have a good idea of where to start. He briefly considered getting her a gift, but realised that she had shown very little interest in objects so far. She had expressed an interest in stories, and a desire to know theirs, but he didn't yet feel comfortable telling her that. She seemed to like Hearth however, and he seemed to like her. Following that train of thought he wondered how she'd react to going flying. Tel loved the sensation of flight and to him there was nothing in the world better than soaring through the skies with his best friend. She'd loved his fiery breath and he saw no reason why she shouldn't enjoy flying. But caring and trying to help sounded like tomorrow's problem. Today was his day off.

 

Ameiko passed the journey that was a lot longer than it needed to be in idle conversation with Tel about Hearth. He hated the idea that answering all these questions was giving away so much information but he reminded himself to trust, just a little. Ameiko seemed to pick up on this and kept her questions very superficial, for which he was grateful. When the town came into view it was a welcome relief to Tel as he was beginning to run out of enthusiasm for idle chatter. They crossed the bridge into town and made their way to the inn. They dismounted in the courtyard and headed into the inns kitchen where Bethana and Uka had the dinner preparations well under way.

"Ahh, I see you all found each other ok then. Enjoy your little time alone in the woods?" asked Bethana with a lewd expression and a laugh.

"I spent a good deal of it on the ground rolling around on my back," said Ameiko, calling Beth's bluff.

"No doubt you got rather dirty then," Beth said, raising the bet.

"Will the pair of you kindly retrieve your minds from the gutter, if Tel gets any redder I fear for his health," said Uka, interrupting.

Ameiko and Bethana just laughed. Hearth joined the conversation as best he could while trying to take advantage of the distracted Bethanas ingredients.

"I see the winged snake isn't any better mannered than when it left," said Bethana, swatting at Hearth.

"You want to be careful Beth, I spent the afternoon getting my butt kicked by that winged snake," Ameiko said.

Tel just looked on in disbelief. He had to admit he still sometimes envied Ameiko her easygoing way with people. They carefree way she interacted with her friends was something he felt he could never achieve. He only had one friend.

 

That wasn't strictly true, he reminded himself. Hearth was much more than what qualified as a friend, he was more like a soulmate, and he could probably make normal friends if he followed project Sandpoint through its progression. Actually, he thought looking around to Uka and Ameiko, I might have the makings of two friends right here. Somewhere inside him a fight broke out as a deeply repressed side of him wanted so badly to jump into that conversation and to interact while his default survivor side argued against it. With a sigh he realised that even if he wanted to, or allowed himself to, get involved he didn't know how. He was that broken.

 

Ameiko looked over her shoulder to where Tel stood motionless with his cheeks slowly returning to a more normal hue. She realised that he didn't seem to have picked up on Beth's raunchy humour or penchant for innuendo and she had to admit that it was kind of funny. While she enjoyed dirty jokes, and Uka stoically tolerated them, Tel would just go quiet and an interesting shade of red. She couldn't help but wonder how he'd managed to make it through the experience of being a pit fighter without picking up at least a little of the rough and tumble lifestyle that came with it. Usually gladiators, the survivors at least, were ready to jump on any of life's more carnal pleasures and boasted about their larger than life appetites for such things. She wondered if perhaps it was due to his relationship with Hearth and she wondered at what point during his captivity he'd met Hearth. Something stuck out to her, now that she thought about it, about the way Tel had reacted to her landing a hit on him. What she had done was hardly an advanced technique and it struck her as odd that he'd never encountered it. Perhaps he wasn't expected to survive long enough to give thorough training to? Or perhaps he had a role that didn't focus on actual fighting?

 

Ameiko stopped herself. She was theorising about exactly how little Tel's life had been worth to the slave masters and she found the thought offensive. Instead she decided to focus on what she knew about him. She knew he was in the Chelish militia, and that Hearth had attacked his town. She knew that he'd chosen not to shoot Hearth and that he'd been sold into slavery for his dereliction of duty. After the events of the afternoon she knew that he'd been sold to the fighting pits and that he'd somehow escaped with Hearth, which implied Hearth was also a prisoner there. There was also the mysterious scar they seemed to share. Ameiko smiled and affirmed to herself that theirs was a story worth knowing.

 

"Bloody hell, are the pair of you that sore in the tongue you can't find something to say to fill the silence? If that's the case I'm surprised you can walk, girl," said Bethana.

Ameiko realised she'd been lost in thought and quickly jumped back into the present. When she saw that Beth's innuendo had gone over Tel's head she decided to fire back.

"Jealousy is an ugly emotion Beth," she said, full of mock severity.

"Before this can devolve into another conversation about things usually reserved for private enjoyment, might I suggest we change the topic?" said Uka tiredly.

Ameiko laughed.

"Sure thing Uka. Speaking of other things, I'm looking forward to seeing Shalelu again," she said.

 

Uka couldn't help but wonder at Beth's fixation on all things sexual. Still, she supposed it wasn't out of the ordinary to suspect such things out of a young man and woman alone in the woods together for extended periods of time. Beth, much like herself, was acutely aware of how young people behaved in a town such as this and had she not known for herself the particulars of the two involved she would have drawn a very similar conclusion. As it stood she knew them both. She wondered if Beth might not be the only one to be making such assumptions as Tel and Hearth were hardly inconspicuous and Ameiko was recognised throughout the town, making their movements very much public knowledge. If assumptions, incorrect ones, were being made she wondered what impact they might have on her plans. She didn't think Shayliss would be dissuaded by revelations of promiscuity from her choice of partners and, really, she was the only one she needed the services of who she couldn't straight out ask. Securing her services again was actually something she should probably do soon, tomorrow if not tonight, as Shalelu was due back this evening with more information. Information Uka intended to use to form a plan of action which she wanted Tel to be a part of. She'd need to weight that balance in her favour again when she asked Tel and Hearth to risk themselves for the town.

 

There was precious little time for further contemplation however as the dinner rush began in earnest and Uka found a new respect for Ameiko's ability to perform under pressure and multi task. Luckily people didn't complain too loudly when she brought them the wrong order out of a mixture of fear of her and respect for Ameiko taking a day off. When she finally made it back into the kitchen after a service run that seemed to be composed entirely of disaster she noticed Tel and Hearth were absent, as was Ameiko.

"Bethana, where have Ameiko, Tel and Hearth gotten to?" she asked.

"To bed. Though sadly for both not together," Bethana replied with a laugh, "by the look of it they could do with a little stress relief."

"I agree with your assessment, if not your solution. However Hearth was not mentioned." Uka said with a tone crafted perfectly to imply disapproval.

Unfortunately Bethana was all but immune to such measures.

"The snake is never more than arm’s length from Tel, which, true enough, might make things awkward," she said without breaking stride.

"Indeed. Thank you, Bethana," Uka replied curtly.

Uka scooped up the next round of ready meals with tendrils of hair and turned to head back out into the common room. She supposed it wasn't entirely unexpected that they'd both turn in early for the night, given the state they'd been in after last night. They're probably catching up on sleep she decided as she placed the orders on their tables in a flurry of hair, heedless to the loss of appetite her delivery method might induce. Uka hoped they'd both be ready to play their part in the plan she would concoct just as soon as Shalelu returned.

 

When Uka returned to the kitchen Bethana waved her over.

"Uka, do me a solid and take a note for me, before I forget. There's ink and paper in that drawer over there," she said, indicating to a cupboard, "I promised Ameiko I'd leave a note out for Shalelu when she gets back."

"Certainly," Uka replied, "what shall I convey?"

"Oh, just something to the effect of 'hi, make sure you wake me up as soon as you get in cause I'm dying to hear about your trip' or something," said Bethana, waving her hand in vague circles.

Uka did her best to convey the message rather more eloquently and penned the note in the flowing script of elvish as a concession to its intended reader. She then magically imbued it with glowing runes that read 'Shalelu' and used another spell to adhere it to the door where it couldn't be missed.

"Neat trick that," said Bethana, "now that you've done that, here's the next round of meals."

Uka stifled a sigh and gathered another round of meals.

 

Uka's ever active mind, finding nothing to occupy it in the delivery of food, turned to the topic of Shalelu. That the ranger hadn't returned yet meant one of two things: that she'd been captured or killed and was unable to return on time, or she'd found something she felt worth further investigation and thus was unwilling to return on time. Uka had to admit to herself that Shalelu was a proficient woodsman and highly skilled at what she did which made the 'unable' option rather unlikely. That left unwilling. Uka found it unsettling that Shalelu might have discovered something worrying enough to prolong her reconnaissance. Still, in such an eventuality the extra information would prove invaluable. The potentially dire circumstances did, however, make this a harder sell to Tel. Just as she was beginning to worry about leverage fate once again delivered a great bounty to Uka.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Shayliss poked her head through the door and after a brief look around she spotted her father sitting in his usual spot at the bar. He was, as ever, slumped forward over his drink and a million miles away from reality. She noticed Uka handing out meals with tentacles of animate hair and saw that the rumours about Ameiko taking a day off were true. Unwilling to miss out on such a novel occasion, that she was sure would be the talk of the town, she decided to spend coin and get a meal. She spotted a group of her friends already in attendance and they were far enough away from her father that she was confident he wouldn't notice her. She moved over to where they were sitting and after a warm welcome took a seat and placed an order. Her friends wasted no time in pressing her for her opinion on the latest gossip. Tel had been seen returning from a trip into the woods with Ameiko riding with him on Hearth and the speculation on the nature of their rendezvous was rampant. Shayliss smiled to herself.  
“Doesn't he seem a bit standoffish to be openly courting someone like Ameiko?” she asked the table in general.  
There was a general consensus of agreement with her assessment.  
“I'd think the fact they're both here and yet unaccounted for would be much more interesting,” she continued.  
The collective gasp and the ensuing barrage of questions told her that statement had had the desired impact.

Uka returned to the kitchen and relayed Shayliss order to Bethana who, being done with the bulk of the initial rush, made a start on it almost immediately. Uka watched as the bits and pieces were put together on the plate and it was placed into line to wait on its finishing touches with the rest of the wave. Shayliss being only 30 yards from Tel presented an opportunity she couldn't afford to pass up. But it was going to be a challenge to seal the deal, as it were. She was confident Tel would welcome Shayliss advances if she made them, but therein lay the problem. How was she going to get Shayliss to make those advances? The girl might not be in the mood, and might not even be aware he was in his shed. Even if she was in the mood and knew he was there would she be brazen enough to approach him if he was asleep on Hearth? She knew the girl lacked a sense of societal gender expectations, which she approved of, but not manners. 

Trusting her own old adage that all animals were basically like sheep once you got to the core of things she considered the possibility of adding a little urge-enhancement to Shayliss meal. Certainly such practices had helped with the rapid growth of her flock. Though she had to concede that she usually dosed the ram, who in this case was most likely asleep on a dragon at the moment. Still, there was nothing for it. She was going to have to dose the ewe; which presented another problem. Although Tel only really had one port of call for such activities in town she knew that Shayliss had a few. She'd have to eliminate the competition in such a manner as to not arouse suspicion, or arouse anything where they were concerned. She decided on a spell designed to induce feelings of pleasant fullness and drowsiness for the alternative rams and a dose of desire powerful enough to overcome Shayliss manners for the ewe. 

She had a delivery system for the ewe sitting on the bench awaiting seasoning but she needed one for the rams. It needed to be able to be stealthily added to a meal post delivery without its target noticing. After a quick brainstorm she hit upon a solution. As a cat owner she knew that every meal she ever ate would have at least one cat hair in it. If she didn't find it that just meant she'd eaten it without noticing. Her plan finalised she grabbed the salt shaker and sent out a mental call to Ula.   
“Excuse me one moment please Bethana, I'm just stepping out for some fresh air. Call me when these ones are ready,” she said, gesturing at the waiting meals.  
“Can't say I blame you, typical of Ameiko to take a busy night off,” said Bethana with a smile.  
Uka nodded and smiled in return before slipping out the back door. Once out in the cool night air she had a quick look over to the hay shed and saw that Tel and Hearth were fast asleep inside, both quiet as rocks. At least Tel was asleep, she corrected when Hearth cracked an eye in her direction.  
“Don't mind me Hearth,” she whispered.  
Hearth closed his eye and Uka could have sworn he smiled knowingly but she put it down to a trick of the light on those black scales. She moved back to stand by the back door and Ula emerged from a cloak of shadows to join her.

“Ula, dear, I have a job for you,” she said to the disinterested cat.  
She telepathically sent images of the faces of her targets to Ula, along with instructions to leave a few hairs in each of their meals. Ula meowed her acknowledgement and understanding of the request quietly and Uka chanted the spell to enchant the hairs in hushed tones. The magic glowed a moment then settled onto Ula, disappearing from sight but still very much there. Satisfied that the enchantment had been successful and would perform as desired Uka turned her attention on the borrowed salt shaker. Just as the last of the glow of her spell was fading into the salt there came a knock on the inside of the door.  
“Hey, Uka, you ready for another trip?” called Bethana from the kitchen.  
“Oh, yes,” said Uka as she returned to the kitchen, Ula trotting in after her.  
“That's the last of them, to go to the girls table and the table at the far right,” Bethana said.  
“Ah, excellent,” said Uka and began picking them up in her hair in as unsettling a manner as she could manage.  
It had the desired effect and Bethana soon looked away and got back to preparing for the cleanup; leaving Uka unobserved to season Shayliss meal. She looked down at the nearly twenty plates and realised she had absolutely no idea which one belonged to Shayliss. She'd learned tonight that once she was at the table she could ask who's order was who's, but it would be a bit conspicuous to dose the meal then. Aware that her window for indecision here was quite narrow, as Bethana would innocently investigate any delay almost immediately, Uka decided to just go all in. She seasoned every meal with her magic salt. After all, she mused as she began her round of deliveries and Ula began hers, those who it affects won't really be having a terrible time. Besides, the goblin problem needed solving now and the fallout of this wasn't likely to make work for her for nine months or so.

As Uka and Ula returned to the kitchen, their respective rounds complete, they gave each other a meaningful look.   
“Well done, Ula,” said Uka, picking the cat up for a pet.  
“When you're done playing with your pussy would you mind getting the magic dishwashing sink going again,” said Bethana, laughing at her own joke.  
Uka sighed inwardly but smiled in spite of herself. After what she'd just done she couldn't preach too loudly, not even to herself. Given Bethana’s endless stream of innuendo perhaps she should have dosed her with the salt too and given her the impetus to work some of it out of her system. But considering the wide tastes of the wily spinster in question she wasn't ready to jump down that rabbit hole just yet. Who knows, she might try your rabbit hole, came an errant and unwelcome thought across her mind. She quickly checked her hands for signs of contact with the enchanted salt. Finding none she attributed the momentary lapse in propriety to having spent the day in the kitchen with Bethana.

Eager to occupy her mind with more productive things she put Ula down and fetched her some milk before animating the washing up area for Bethana. Now that she'd satisfied the halfling- she stopped that train of thought immediately and conducted another, more thorough, inspection of her hands for traces of salt. Now that she'd acquiesced to Bethana’s request, she amended, it was time to check on the results of her plan so far. When she looked out into the common room she saw that her competing rams were all looking very contented and on their way out with half-lidded eyes. She also happily noted the increased energy at two tables in particular. She dutifully refilled Ven’s drink to keep him sedated at the bar, got Ula to keep an eye on him, and returned to help Bethana with cleaning up while she waited for the patrons to thin out. 

Her table of collateral damage soon cleared out with a spring in their step and desire in their eyes. But Uka's parallel between humans and sheep was proving annoyingly accurate with the table of Shayliss and friends. Like a flock of sheep not one would go anywhere without the others and none of them really wanted to be the one to initiate the move. Given the fidgeting and the looks that were flying around the table Uka was certain the spell had worked wonderfully, however she realised that her carefully laid plan might be foiled by any broadness of taste among the girls. She'd eliminated the competing rams but realised she might have created another problem, judging by all the whispering in ears and the biting of lips. Never one to be afraid of evolving plans on the fly Uka decided that a little personal prodding might be in order. She adjusted her dress for maximum impact on those it might affect, let her hair sit naturally and confidently strode over.

As she approached her keen ears overheard a conversation that was entirely on the topic she'd suspected.   
“Good evening ladies, I trust the meal was to your liking,” she said in a pleasant tone; the goal was not to intimidate after all.  
“Oh, it was fantastic,” said one of the girls and the others quickly chimed in with their agreement.  
“I'm glad to hear it, Bethana and I did our best without Ameiko in the kitchen,” Uka replied.  
“She's taking time for some well deserved r and r then?” asked Shayliss.  
“Yes. Actually, she's turned in for the evening actually, though it's such a lovely night out; I'm surprised Tel and Hearth are in their shed out the back and not flying around,” she said conversationally and was pleased to see Shayliss hide her interest.  
“Oh, we all assumed he was with Ameiko,” Shayliss said with a calculated laugh that was soon echoed by her friends.  
Uka realised she might have underestimated Shayliss. That was a clever probe for information and she suspected another was hot on its heels. Her suspicions were proved correct a moment later.  
“Perhaps he is waiting for you then Uka? You look beautiful, as always, but especially so in that dress,” Shayliss said warmly.  
Uka detected no deception in the compliment which was roundly seconded by the assembled girls. Uka had to admit she was quite flattered, to be called beautiful by someone as stunning as Shayliss was high praise indeed, and it occurred to her that she was probing to make sure she wasn't stepping on any toes if she went after Tel again. Uka admitted that she had definitely underestimated Shayliss, the woman was clearly polite and intelligent with a sense of honour about her hunting.  
“Thank you very much, Shayliss, your words are most kind, though Tel and I only know each other in a professional capacity after he was injured in the defence of Sandpoint,” Uka said, hoping to give Shayliss the go ahead.  
“Well, that puts an end to that enjoyable line of gossip,” she said with mock despair and a smile that drew another round of laughter from the sheep.

Uka quickly searched for something to say to give Shayliss an excuse to break away from the flock. She couldn't think of anything on the spot and wished she had Ameiko's way with words. Then she wondered if it had to be something she said, and couldn't be something she did. She moved to gather the plates at the table and saved Shayliss for last. When she reached for Shayliss plate with her hair she accidentally-on-purpose spilled gravy on her lap.  
“Shayliss I'm so sorry,” said Uka earnestly, actually feeling a little guilty, “if you follow me to the kitchen I'll be happy to fix that with a quick spell.”  
“Oh, it's ok, don't worry about it. But I might take you up on that spell,” Shayliss said, scooping the gravy off her lap.  
When she'd removed enough to not have it run down her skirt when she stood she excused herself from the table, signalling to the herd that it was time to move. When she did so the number of winks fired at her and the amount of playful elbowing among the departing diners left Uka rolling her eyes as she returned to the kitchen. 

“Uka, I mean no offence, and please forgive my ignorance of such things, but is this spell entirely safe?” asked Shayliss.  
She was eager for a cleanup but not at the risk of spending the rest of the evening as a pumpkin. Uka stifled the urge to berate her for such superstitious nonsense. Partly because she needed her, but also because she'd admitted her ignorance and been polite about it. Uka had to admit that her opinion of the woman had changed dramatically in the last few minutes; and she was even more intoxicatingly beautiful up close. Now that Uka thought about it she couldn't quite figure out why she hadn't gotten to know her better.   
“The spell will only be a very simple one and quite safe, I assure you,” Uka replied with a glance back to the following Shayliss to reassure her.  
When they reached the kitchen Uka placed the dirty plates within ranged of the automated washtub and dropped the animation of her hair.   
“Evening Shayliss,” called Bethana from where she was packing the clean dishes away.  
“Evening Beth, thanks for the lovely meal,” Shayliss replied warmly.  
“Any time. Say, what're you about Uka? You're not one I'd pick to be bringing beautiful young ladies back,” said Bethana with her characteristic grin.  
Uka was drawn suddenly from her contemplation of Shayliss hair and fantasies of running her fingers through it. Like a cake of wet soap the train thought refused to be grabbed and reigned in, and it slithered to quite a list of other places she wanted to touch the red headed beauty before it was finally arrested.

“Nothing like what you're thinking,” Uka lied, “I clumsily soiled Shayliss dress and offered to clean it.”  
“You going to help her out of it before you do?” Bethana said calmly.   
Shayliss smiled and turned to Uka, before cocking an eyebrow suggestively. After another few moments spent in pursuit of a mental cake of soap Uka managed to reassert control over her thoughts and concluded she had definitely come into contact with that salt.   
“The spell I intend to use will require no such measures, however it should be performed in peace,” said Uka in an attempt to regain her command of the situation before motioning to the back door. “Shayliss, if you'd step outside with me a moment.”   
“I knew it,” said Bethana triumphantly.  
Uka gave a resigned sigh and turned to follow Shayliss out into the courtyard. As she watched her go she lowered her gaze and loosed the mind-soap again. Stepping out into the cool night air Uka suddenly realised how hot and stuffy it had been in there and pulled her collar back from her neck. Too late she realised what she'd done when she saw the the coy look Shayliss gave her in response. 

Uka worried that she might inadvertently be derailing her own plan here and so pushed ahead before it could come any further unstuck; or she finally slipped over totally on that soap. She turned to Shayliss and shooed her back a few paces with her hands.  
“Ok, now, just stand there and hold still while I cast the spell, if you please,” she said in a voice not as stern as she might have liked.  
“Well Uka, to be honest you're already quite enchanting,” Shayliss said with a smile, but did as she was bid.  
Uka said nothing, and instead began her casting of the simple spell to remove the skirts from Shayliss gravy. She quickly seized control of her now well-lathered thoughts and double checked the integrity of the spell before she released it to do its work. It performed satisfactorily and the remaining gravy was pulled from the fabric and deposited in a pile at Shayliss feet.  
“That's incredible Uka, thank you,” said Shayliss with unabashed awe as she pulled her cleaned skirt through her hand.  
“That's quite alright,” Uka replied.  
She had all her pieces in position, despite some unforeseen complications, and now only needed to give Shayliss her intended target before the complications grew any more severe. She cast a quick glance over towards the boy's hay shed and considered her options. Then her keen eyes saw Hearth stir through the gaps in the shed and she realised her old accomplice might have designs of his own. 

######

Tel was woken by Hearth fidgeting beneath him. He quickly opened his eyes and put a hand to Hearth’s side.  
“Something out there?” he whispered urgently and reached for his sword.  
Hearth gave a gentle roo to indicate all clear, then sniffed at the air.  
“Just getting comfy, then?” Tel asked rhetorically and smiled.  
He pulled his hand back from his sword and instead used it to pat Hearth before closing his eyes again. Hearth fidgeted again and gently tipped Tel off his usual spot on his foreleg.  
“I'm sorry my friend, what is it?” Tel asked as he stood up and stretched.  
He let out a yawn, rubbed his eyes and blinked away his blurry vision. When his sight cleared he saw it was a beautiful night, clear and with a bright moon, and he thought he understood why Hearth wanted to get up.  
“It is a lovely night, and you're quite right, it'd be a waste to sleep all the way through it,” he said looking up into the sky.  
Tel walked out of their shed and into the courtyard with Hearth close behind and was surprised to see Uka and Shayliss standing by the inns back door. Uka said something to Shayliss he didn't quite catch, nodded politely to her and stepped back into the kitchen.

Tel turned to Hearth who was looking back expectantly.   
“This is why you got me up? Because she's alone out here?” Tel asked the expectant face.  
Hearth just glanced back and forth between Tel and Shayliss. Evidently hearing their one sided conversation Shayliss turned to regard the pair and waved to them.  
“Good evening Tel,” she said in a seductive tone as she walked over.  
“Evening.”  
“It's a beautiful night out, are you two taking a walk?” she asked with a swish of her hips.  
“Ah, maybe,” said Tel and fidgeted under the assault of recent memories.  
“Well, maybe you could walk me home? It's awfully late to be walking by myself,” she said with a smile at Tel's obvious discomfort.  
Hearth warbled softly and slowly moved in to nose Shayliss who, still a little unsure of him, tensed at his approach. He sniffed at her a couple of times experimentally and gave what Tel was sure was supposed to be a reassuring nod.   
“He means no harm,” Tel said with a little less composure than he might have liked.  
Clearly hearing his words but not taking her eyes off Hearth, Shayliss mastered her fear and reached out to touch the warm scales on his nose.  
“He's quite the gentleman, unlike his rider,” she said playfully and winked at Tel.

Tel watched her gingerly pat Hearth’s nose and tried to remember her name. He was shocked when he realised, on reflection, that it'd only been two days since she’d breathed it into his ear. Though in his defence he had been rather distracted at the time by things going on elsewhere, and also, he didn't really care, so it wasn't an important piece of information. Then another thought struck him- it'd only been two days and here she was again. Did that mean she felt something for him? Tel felt the strange feeling in his chest from their first night together return and immediately it went to war with his carnal designs on Shayliss. This was much too much intimate contact with the same person it screamed; this is how people get themselves hurt. Send her away and never see her again, his survivors voice cried, she’ll only prove a point of weakness and she might try to come between him and Hearth. Unfortunately that was all his fears needed to get into full swing. They reminded him that he was undeserving of Hearth’s loyalty and presented the fact that he would even imagine something coming between them as further proof of his unworthiness. His libido launched a counterattack assuring him that if he didn't care, then he didn't care, and that there was no harm in having a good time with her.

Tel quickly checked to make sure Shayliss attention was still occupied by Hearth and just closed his eyes. He tried to sort out the melee in his mind but found there were too many different thoughts running around to make heads or tails of. He couldn't identify even a tenth of the individual combatants, much less where they came from or even what they were fighting. All he was left with was the resultant overall feeling, which was like scrambled eggs between his ears. Feeling defeated he opened his eyes again and was shocked to see both Hearth and Shayliss staring at him. Embarrassment threatened to overwhelm him and he felt his cheeks run hot while his breath hitched in his throat.  
“Tel, are you ok?” Shayliss asked earnestly.  
He noticed all the earlier seduction was gone and in its place was a look of concern. He found it disappointing. Fuck this, he decided. He refused to let his brokenness stop him any more. He wanted this, and he didn't care about her so why worry about a commitment that's not there and never will be. She'd never mean more to him than Hearth, that notion was just ridiculous. Besides, he already knew what she wanted and he could do with some fun.  
“You make me nervous,” he said with a small smile.  
“Oh, why’s that?” she asked as she advanced on him, the seductive tone back in her voice and a smile back on her lips.

Tel found the rejection of his turbulent thoughts and the embracing of the present oddly liberating and it gave him the mental space for other things; all of which was seized by his desires for the appreciation of Shayliss beauty. She was truly a sight to behold with her flowing red hair and deep green eyes punctuating a beautiful face of smooth features and soft lines.   
“You're very forward,” he said, letting his eyes shamelessly roam.  
“Can't handle a woman who takes charge?” she asked as she invaded his personal space.  
“I just, you have me at a disadvantage with… This sort of thing,” he replied easily as his troubles continued to melt away.  
“Really?” she playfully mocked as she drew closer still.  
“Yeah,” Tel replied, unsure of what to say.  
Shayliss chuckled and gently blew a warm breath over his cheek before brushing her lips over his jaw and pulling away.  
“Well, are you going to take me home, or are you going to make me ask again?” she said while staring into Tel's eyes.  
Tel found her eyes beautiful but couldn't hold the intensity of that stare and so closed his own and threw his head back with a snort.  
“I'm not carrying you,” he said, “if you want a ride ask Hearth.”  
“I was right, looks like it falls to Hearth to be the gentleman,” she said with mock condescension.

She turned to Hearth, as much to turn away from Tel as to request a ride. She almost couldn't bear to look at him the urge to tear his clothes off was getting that intense. As a matter of fact she couldn't remember ever having had it this bad before in her life. Hell, she'd never be able to look at Uka the same way again as her hungry mind had been plotting interesting applications of Uka's magical talent, and she had almost considered making a move on the beautiful witch until Tel had wandered out. Thank the gods he had, she thought to herself, he would do nicely; he wouldn't wander around town bragging about the long list of marathon encounters she had planned for the evening and he was a decent and energetic, if emotionally distant, lover. She’d found him to be a quick learner in their first encounter and she bit her lip at the thought of all the things she had always wanted to try that she could teach someone who had so little regard for the normal expectations of such things.   
“Can I get a lift, sir?” she said respectfully to Hearth and he gave a croak and lowered his head.  
As she was wearing a skirt she pulled herself onto his neck sidesaddle and was immediately aware of just how ready she was for some action when she felt her sodden undergarments press between her thighs. Hearths strange warmth only intensified things and she had to consciously stop herself from squirming around.

Tel watched her climb onto Hearth and had to smile to himself when he considered the emerging pattern of Shayliss desires and Hearths interest in her. Hearth kept his head lowered and Tel wasted no time jumping up in front of Shayliss as soon as she was done wriggling around to get comfortable. As soon as they were both mounted they set off through the town towards the general store. As they moved he felt Shayliss hands moving over his back and then roaming further and further afield. She fidgeted incessantly behind him and after her hands began their travels he had to make a few adjustments to his seating as his pants seemed to shrink. Tel checked his unusually quiet thoughts and found them all subdued. It was wonderful, besides the physical pleasure the fact that sex quieted his thoughts was a welcome reprieve. Sex and alcohol had a track record for producing a quiet mind second only to Hearth. He gave the dragon a rub on the head in thanks when he realised all the stress relief in his life came from his scaled friend and his projects.

Shayliss mind was working overtime visualising all the things she wanted to do as the overwhelming hunger between her thighs demanded ever louder to be sated. As she watched her fantasies scroll across her thoughts she realised that very few of them took place, or would even work, in her little cot in the basement. Besides, she was in the mood for something a bit more interesting in the way of location. After thinking through a few possibilities she arrived on a little place she knew up river, it was private and far enough away from town that a little noise wouldn't be noticed. She bit her lip; this was going to be fun.  
“Tel, Hearth, did you see that? I just saw a rat the size of a goblin run across the street,” she said with a voice suggesting everything but rats.  
“Really? Better follow it and make sure it doesn't find your shop,” Tel replied and gave Hearths left horn a gentle pull.  
Hearth obligingly turned left and put them on the trail of the phantom rat. Following Shayliss directions the trio soon came to the bridge out of town and she realised she'd forgotten about the guard on watch. But she was much too horny to care and they plodded quietly past to his initially curious stare and, then, his knowing smile.

Uka watched them go from a knot of shadows on a nearby rooftop. She was confident neither Shayliss nor Tel had spotted her, despite the fact Hearth kept glancing at her, and her plan appeared to have been a resounding success. Unless those two had a late night mushroom gathering excursion planned she had a fair idea of what they’d be getting up to in the woods. She decided that, although it was likely a sealed deal, she should probably keep a bit of an eye on things after some of the thoughts she'd been having herself; that spell might have been a bit more potent than was required. Besides, it never hurt to double check. Nothing was certain in this world and she’d need Tel in a good mood if Shalelu brought dire news, as she suspected she would. She watched Hearth disappear into the tree line and decided it might be a good idea to check up on some of the collateral recipients of her salt too. Then she'd go check on the primary target. Her contingency plan against potential bad news was coming together nicely. So far so good.

Shayliss, Tel and Hearth made their way through the woods and it felt to her like the journey was taking hours. Realistically she knew it was only a few minutes, but having to hold back the urges was torturous. After what seemed like an eternity they came across the little clearing on the river bank and it looked exactly how it had in her fantasies. The softly gurgling water was sparkling under the silvery light of the moon and the grass looked soft and inviting. She pulled down her top, leaned forward and pressed her exposed breasts onto Tel’s back.  
“Was it worth the trip?” she asked breathily into his ear.  
Tel looked around at the beautiful spot.  
“I'm not sure, I'll let you know in a minute,” he replied, and patted the crown of Hearths head.  
“Oh I've got more in mind than a minute, a lot more. I hope you're feeling energetic,” she said before gently sucking his earlobe.  
Tel let out a tiny, involuntary moan at the sudden sensation and it was all the encouragement Shayliss needed to send her hands after his shirt. She pulled her chest off his back just long enough to lift his shirt over his head before returning the contact and delighting in the electric sensation of skin on skin.

Tel was momentarily blinded as his shirt was pulled up over his head but the warmth on his bare back was all he was focussed on. He pulled his shirt off his arms himself and tossed it to the ground.   
“Hearth, my friend, can you put us down?” he said between the little involuntary reactions to Shayliss attentions.  
Hearth obligingly lowered his head and rolled them both gently off onto the soft grass. He made eye contact before giving Tel a smug look and an enquiring coo. Tel replied wordlessly with a hazy smile, to which Hearth gave a croaking laugh and a happy warble before wandering to the other side of the clearing and melting into the shadows. Tel felt an instant of panic as he watched his friend disappear but he fought it down with the knowledge that Hearth would never leave him; though given what he was up to he wasn't sure how he felt about that either. Trusting in Hearth he returned his attention to the woman at his back, whose hands were making a move for his belt. Dexterous fingers made short work of the buckle and wasted no time slipping into his waistband.

He pulled the searching hands out of his pants and turned to face Shayliss. His eyes immediately shot to her chest where her breasts, softly lit in the silvery moonlight, rose and fell in time with her excited breaths. Entranced by their beauty and overcome with desire he reached out to cup her breast with his hand. It was as warm and soft as he remembered and he gently pulled his thumb over her firm nipple, watching it spring back into place once the pressure had passed. He gently squeezed with his fingertips and was pleased to see Shayliss smile. Her skirts fell to the ground, revealing what her hands had been up to and more. She wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled in close, squashing Tel's playful hand between their chests. He pulled it free and sent it around her back to tighten the embrace. Thinking to imitate Shayliss earlier trick, and keen to share the pleasurable sensation it had produced, Tel leaned forward, brushed aside her beautiful red hair with his nose and took her earlobe into his mouth. He sucked gently and was pleased to feel her hand grasp as his back. He flicked her lobe with his tongue and was rewarded with fingertips digging into his shoulder.

Tel felt her break contact low on his waist, then a hand diving into his pants. He had to fight the instinct to bite down when he felt her soft fingers firmly grip his manhood. When her hand began to move in slow strokes he had to release her ear for fear of biting it, instead he kissed the side of her neck and pulled his head back to look her in the eye. She was wearing her usual confident grin, with the upturned corner of her mouth revealing that she knew exactly the effect she was having, but her eyes were lidded and awash with pleasure. She leant in to him and kissed him passionately, and Tel required no encouragement to return the gesture. Her mouth was warm and soft, in beautiful contrast to the firm, muscular tongue that grappled with his own. He could feel her breath in his throat and her hair brushing his face as she moved. Suddenly she pulled away, dropped to a squat, pulled his pants to mid-thing and took him into her mouth. Tel closed his eyes and let it happen, the bliss of the sudden warm pressure followed by the ecstasy as her firm lips moved up his shaft and rolled onto his head. She sucked gently before moving back down and taking him further into her mouth, her tongue wrapping, rubbing and flicking as she went up and down again and again. He let out a satisfied moan and opened his eyes to watch what felt to good to be real. His hands needing something to hold he pulled Shayliss fiery locks back from her face and returned the playful smile she flashed him between strokes.

A metallic clink broke through the plethora of wetter, organic noises as she undid the buckles on his boots and he kicked them off one after the other when she was done with them. As soon as the second boot hit the ground his pants were pulled to his ankles by eager hands. He quickly stepped out of them and once he had both feet on the ground again Shayliss suddenly stood back up, her breasts brushing past his throbbing erection and her firm nipples tracing their way up his torso as she did so. Tel drew a breath through his nose in anticipation as the smiling face rose to meet his. They kissed, then Shayliss pulled away.  
“Ready?” she asked playfully.  
“Depends what for,” Tel replied.  
Without further warning Shayliss jumped and wrapped her legs around Tel’s waist. Thinking quickly he shifted his weight backwards to counterbalance the woman hanging off his front and grabbed her ass with his hands.   
“Nice catch,” she teased and arched her back, smothering Tel in her breasts.  
“Huh,” was all he said back.

Her body felt hot pressed so tightly against his and immediately sweat began to slick them where they touched. When he felt her begin to slip he bounced her up and caught her to give himself a better grip. As he did so her chest heaved against his face and her nipples again caught his attention. Lost in the fog of desire and the energy of the moment he kissed the inside of her cleavage before turning his head and licking her nipple. The faint taste of salt only spurred his arousal and he rolled his tongue around it before leaning in to suck it gently. Shayliss moaned with pleasure and leaned forward to drink in Tel’s scent.  
“Feel that?” she asked, looking down at him.  
Tel released the nipple, then kissed it before looking up at her to reply.  
“Feel what?” he asked.  
Shayliss ground her crotch forward into him and Tel felt her abs tense as she bit her lip against the rush of sensation. As she did he could feel her wet slit rubbing tantalisingly over his the head of his cock. Tel gave her a smile and then looked for a smooth tree; she wasn't that heavy but if she kept rolling her hips like that she'd be a pain to hold up. Locating one only a few steps away he strode forward and pushed Shayliss up against its trunk, holding her against the bark.

“Great minds think alike,” she said with a wink when she realised what had happened.  
“I'll take that as a compliment,” he said and she playfully slapped him on the back.  
Eager to be inside the beautiful redhead Tel reached one hand down from her butt to guide himself into her and after a brief fumble of trial and error he pushed his head up into the warm embrace of her lips. His mind melted at the sudden rush of sensation and a vacant smile settled on his features.  
“Enjoying yourself?” Shayliss asked sarcastically.  
“Immensely,” he replied.  
He pulled back slightly from the tree, removing some of the friction that kept Shayliss pinned against the trunk, and let her slide down over him. Her slick vagina offered no resistance as it took his shaft in to its firm grip. He closed his eyes and let out a stuttering breath as the pressure and the warmth wrapped around him. With his eyes closed he was free to concentrate entirely on the feeling between his legs and revel in it. He felt his head slide past the different contours inside her, with the varying tightness causing an ever-changing barrage of new pleasures; each subtly unique. When he was fully inside her he forced open his blissfully heavy eyes to see Shayliss wearing an expression of satisfaction.

Keen to up the ante he slowly rolled his hips back to pull out of her, feeling the same parade of pleasures, before quickly thrusting back up inside her. She threw her head back and moaned and for a second Tel thought she'd hit her head on the trunk, but she either caught it in time or didn't care. When she didn't react he dismissed the notion and went for another slow pull out followed by a quick thrust back in. Shayliss moaned in appreciation and he repeated the manoeuvre again. After a few more thrusts he'd found his rhythm and the moans of pleasure complimenting the slap-slap-slap of their colliding bodies filled the clearing.

######

Uka looked in through the second storey window from where she sat on the rooftops and noted with detached professionalism that this couple too were going at it like rabbits. She mentally ticked the final couple off her list and looked towards the forest where Tel, Hearth and Shayliss had headed off to. She decided it was time to check on her primary target and lowered herself to the ground with her hair. Cloaked in a knot of shadows she slipped unseen past the guard on watch and slithered invisibly across the bridge and into the woods. She was reasonably sure they’d be having sex, but she wanted to know how both parties were doing. That spell might have been a good bit more potent than it needed to be and she was worried that under its effects Shayliss might prove too much for the reclusive Tel. That would be a disastrous occurrence with potentially undesirable long term implications for Sandpoint. She had to admit to herself however that if her check did reveal that Tel was getting overwhelmed she didn't really know what she'd do.

Just as she was starting to formulate a plan there was a low growl from her left. Her heart flew into her throat as she heard the guttural sound, laden with threat. She stopped very still. Usually she could avoid being seen entirely so to have been detected at all was unusual to her, but it only took her keen mind a moment to realise it was Hearth. At least she hoped it was Hearth. When the next sound was a quiet warble, and not another threat, she confirmed her hypothesis that it was Hearth. She slowly turned to face the direction the growl had come from as she had no desire to provoke an attack. Once she could see him and was sure he'd recognised her she relaxed and looked into the shadow that concealed him. He was nearly invisible in the gloom, with his dark scales seeming to absorb the light, and without her ability to see in the dark she was sure she would not have spotted him. Hearth relaxed his stance and his eyes began to glow softly, properly revealing his position, leaving Uka to wonder about the fact he seemed to be able to control the luminescence of his eyes. 

“Hello Hearth,” she said in answer to the earlier warble.  
Hearth nodded in his own sort of greeting. After exchanging pleasantries Uka looked around for Tel and Shayliss, reasoning that it was unlikely that the ever-vigilant Hearth would let him out of sight. She then heard a playful shriek from embarrassingly close by and nearly jumped at the sudden realisation of just how near the pair were. Clearly she'd overestimated Hearth’s sense of privacy or regard for such things she thought when another sharp gasp of pleasure sounded near by. 

She peered around Hearth and saw a small clearing not 5 yards away with the gurgling of the river running on its far side drowning out the quieter noises made by its two energetically-copulating occupants. Relying on her command of shadows to hide her Uka conducted a quick look over the clearing and cocked an eyebrow when she saw Tel and Shayliss engaged in something that looked particularly acrobatic. Shayliss evidently didn't lack imagination with her favoured pursuit she noted, but she was more interested in how Tel was doing. Despite him being positioned such that she was sure he was going to get a nasty cramp, he looked like he was enjoying himself. Unfazed by the goings on in the clearing she bid Hearth a good evening, which earned her another quiet warble, before skirting around the edge of the clearing, crossing the river on stilts of hair and making for her cottage. She felt like she could use a decent sleep.

######

Some time later an extremely sweaty Shayliss looked down at the man she had pinned to the ground between her legs and blew out a deep breath. Her body felt electric as the sweat cooled her hot skin and her earlier hunger was starting to lose its edge. She smiled at him. Despite an average start he had found his rhythm and he picked it up quickly, his willingness to explore with her and his ability to adapt made for a romp that she had to admit was fun. She noted though that Tel's efforts had started to drop off, but that was probably due to fatigue she reasoned. 

Suddenly a massive splash in the stream shocked them from their moment and Tel and Shayliss both shot surprised gazes to the noise. Tel smiled when he noticed it was only Hearth trying his hand at fishing and let out a sigh of relief. He looked back to Shayliss who had gone still and was staring at the dragon as he made another splashing attempt to catch a fish. Secretly Tel was glad for the break; he was beginning to hurt in muscles he didn't even know he had. That said, he wasn't entirely ready for it to be over yet either.   
“How long has he been there? No sense of privacy,” Shayliss said with a smile, and a moment later she turned back from watching Hearth.  
“You look like you could use a break,” she said down the length of her nose.  
Tel, confident that the emasculating tones held no venom, decided he could be the butt of that joke for the sake of his muscles.  
“One of us has been doing a lot more work than the other,” he replied matter-of-factly.  
Shayliss just laughed and rolled off him to lie in the grass next to him.  
“If it makes you feel any better to think that. Though to be honest, I'm feeling a break too,” she admitted nonchalantly.

“Feeling satisfied then?” Tel asked slyly, hoping to bait Shayliss into dropping her feigned disinterest.  
“Hah, almost,” she replied, “I haven't had it that bad in awhile…”  
Tel almost laughed.  
“The rat problem was only two nights ago,” he reminder her.  
She turned to him and gave him an incredulous look.  
“Might my evenings be better spent on embroidery?” she asked seriously.  
Tel wasn't great at reading people but even he could detect the change of tone and body language in Shayliss as she spoke. He realised he might have stepped on a nerve there. Trying to goad his survivors mind into caring he made a real effort to figure out what it might have been. Thinking about it he realised that late night rendezvous were less socially acceptable than embroidery for a woman. Though a hearty appetite for carnal pleasures was something he had been surrounded by as a slave and so he'd thought nothing of someone pursuing regular sex.

“You're a free woman, you can spend your evenings how you wish,” he tried.  
To his surprise she dropped her serious look and laughed.  
“Nice recovery,” she said with a sarcastic grin.  
“What? I was only pointing out that two days isn't that long in the scheme of things,” he said, trying to keep his tone level.  
“You know what they call a woman with the same attitude to sex as a man, Tel?” Shayliss asked with a dangerous edge in her voice, and she propped herself up on one elbow.  
Tel had no idea how to answer a question he suspected might be rhetorical without making things worse so he just waited in the hopes she'd continue.  
“A slut,” she said finally.  
The fire went out of her eyes when she noticed Tel completely fail to react to the word.  
“You're not half as one track minded as some of the people I used to know. They'd start to complain if they didn't get a visit from the whores morning and night,” he said, hoping to be reassuring.

“Hah, I could almost be a prostitute. Getting paid to fuck all day long is a great idea, unfortunately those who need to pay for it are never any good at it. Plus they tend to think they own you,” she said with a humourless smile.  
Tel just nodded, unsure of what to say.  
“Look, I'm sorry for biting your head off, it just sucks to be judged for doing what you love because you're a woman,” she said and flopped back onto the grass.  
Tel tried to understand, despite the fact he had very little interest. He disliked society so he stayed out of it, but he supposed Shayliss was a social person and so stayed in an environment that disapproved of her. He thought this would be the part where Ameiko would say something to make her feel better, or Uka would impart some wisdom, but he had no such words to give.  
“I don't care,” he said, trying to accept the apology.  
Shayliss looked up at the stars and wondered where the hell that had come from. She wondered if she might have ruined the mood, though Tel seemed sincere in his statement that he didn't care. That said, even if she had ruined the mood, she was supremely confident in her ability to get it moving again. She snuck a glance at him where he lay next to her and noted that his gaze was fixed on the heavens. She felt strangely at ease around him, though she knew that was likely just the drug-like high she was still riding, but even so she had to admit his lack of care for societies pressures made him feel approachable. Her impulsive mind, clouded as it was, wanted to get what she suspected was the reason for her outburst off her chest and he seemed like as good a person as any. Besides she could always just seduce him if anything got too awkward.  
“I just had a rough day is all,” she said, hoping to provoke a reply.

Tel remembered Ameiko talking about holding a conversation and decided to try a response.  
“Yeah?” he asked when he couldn't think of more.  
“Yeah, had a past… Lover… Come into the store and he threatened to tell everyone that I was a slut if I didn't give him a discount,” she said, quickly glancing at Hearth still splashing around while cautiously awaiting Tel's reaction.  
Tel fought the urge to hate her for bringing up as a serious problem what seemed to him like a nonissue. Reminding himself that it wasn't a trauma competition and that Shayliss cared about remaining a member of a community he thought of something to say.   
“So what? It's not like he can actually do anything to you if that's the best he's got as a threat. Just threaten to tell everyone he was terrible at sex, or that he has a tiny cock or something. People tend to get really defensive of their masculinity,” he said thoughtfully.  
Shayliss smiled.  
“Tel, that kind’ve supports his claim,” she said, though she had to admit it was a good idea..  
“But his claim supports your too. It doesn't matter if someone has a knife to your throat so long as you've got a knife to theirs, unless they're willing to die to take you down, they won't make a move,” he said. “Besides, what's so horribly wrong with being a slut? I think those sort of men just like to think of women as notches on their belt and struggle with the idea that they might be a notch on yours.”

Shayliss laughed and she had to admit she felt better for Tel's words; both the validation they offered to her and the poetic-yet-realistic solution to her problem.  
“What's funny?” he asked, when his attempt at thoughtful advice earned him a laugh.  
“Nothing, you made an insightful point. I was laughing because it feels good to think of having the tables turned,” she said, pulling herself back up on to her elbow to smile down at him.  
“Oh,” he said.  
“So are you worried about being a notch on my belt?” she asked, tracing circles through the sweat on his chest with her finger.  
“You don't wear a belt,” he replied with mock honesty.  
Shayliss laughed again, glad for the dissolution of her stresses, and slapped him playfully on the abs. Tel laughed and got another slap on the gut, before rolling away to dodge a third. Shayliss pursued on all fours and dove after him, landing squarely on his back with a wet smack. Tel made a halfhearted attempt to wriggle free and was surprised when he nearly managed to slip out of her pin.

“You're gross,” she said with a laugh, “all cold and sweaty and greasy.”  
“You're not much better,” he said, voice muffled by the grass.  
She rolled off him and sat up, then wiped a hand down her cleavage and inspected the cold sweat running off it.  
“Guilty as charged,” she said as Tel pulled himself up.  
He looked down at her and smiled. He felt a sense of achievement at having said something that she though was helpful and it was a win for project Sandpoint in his mind. Also he had to admit he was enjoying himself. Hearth splashed in the river again for what seemed like the thousandth time and Tel couldn't help but envy him the cool, clear water. He looked over to where his friend was fishing and watched the splashed water turn into a cascade of diamonds as it caught the moonlight.

“Fancy a bath?” asked Shayliss with a pouted bottom lip.  
“Ladies first,” said Tel.  
Heart, noticing that everyone seemed to be looking at him, stopped what he was doing and looked back. Tel gave his dear friend a warm smile and Hearth returned it with a happy warble. Breaking the impasse Shayliss moved towards the water, and Tel followed.  
“I can't believe he just decided to go fishing five yards away,” Shayliss said as she moved, slowing her pace for Tel to move up alongside her.  
“He's incredibly stealthy when he wants to be,” Tel replied as he walked with her to the edge of the stream.  
“He must find it easy,” she said, before continuing evilly as she pushed him into the water, “to catch people by surprise.”  
Tel almost caught himself with a long stride forward into the water but toppled over when it was deeper than he thought. The water was cold on his skin, but not unpleasantly so, and he surfaced to his shoulders.  
“You first,” Shayliss said smugly from the bank.

Hearth croaked and nuzzled Tel, inadvertently ducking him under water with his affections. When Tel resurfaced he hugged Hearth’s nosing face and then turned to Shayliss.  
“Well played,” he said.  
“Thank you,” she replied and lowered herself into the water.  
Tel was once again afforded a picturesque view of her stunning body as it slowly descended into the sparkling water and he just admired it as it went; the way the moonlight played over her curves as entrancing as ever. Once she was all the way in she let herself sink below the surface and came back up with her head thrown back to get her hair out of her face. Tel found himself staring again, though this time at her beautiful features.  
“Enjoying the view?” she asked when she noticed his stare.  
Blinking back to reality Tel just smiled.  
“Immensely,” he replied.

Hearth looked pointedly as Shayliss and then back to Tel, nosing the man to prod him on some course of action. Tel had his suspicions about what Hearth was trying to convey, given their history with Shayliss.  
“You're the worst,” he whispered jokingly to Hearth, who croaked heartily in reply, “I haven't given up, we’re just taking a break. Besides, where's your sense of privacy?”  
Hearth just put on a confused face and gave a puzzled ‘rooo’.  
“What is all the whispering about?” asked Shayliss as she swum over.  
“Nothing,” Tel lied.  
“Really? Well you can keep your secret, I trust the gentleman,” she said to Hearth.  
Hearth gave Shayliss a gentle poke with his snout when she drew near, then gave Tel a look and pulled himself up out of the stream. He melted into the shadows almost immediately and left Tel and Shayliss to think they were alone.  
“Holy shit that's impressive,” she said.  
“It is.”  
“Looks like I've got you all to myself again,” she continued as she drew closer.  
She put her arms over Tel's shoulders and pulled herself in, the cool of the water suddenly giving way to the warmth of another body as they touched.

“Weren't we in here to get cleaned up?” he asked flatly, putting his hands on her hips and pressing her into him.  
She didn't answer but leaned in to kiss him. Tel moved to reciprocate and she kissed him passionately, then quickly pulled away and pushed herself away from him.   
“Hurry up and get clean,” she said with a smile, “I'm getting horny again.”  
Tel laughed and set about getting himself clean by rubbing himself over and trusting the water to carry the grime away. Shayliss did the same and shortly they pulled themselves from the twinkling water. Both quickly realised it was almost colder out of the water and each quickly sought the warmth of the other.  
“Tel,” she said as they fell to the grass together.  
“Mmm?” he replied.  
“My ears and my nipples aren't the only things a woman likes sucked,” she said, letting the suggestion hang in the night air.

Tel began kissing his way down her neck, then her collarbone, down over her breasts and across the flat of her tummy as it moved in time with her excited breath. He looked back up at her and saw a face full of eager anticipation, he grinned, wrapped his arms around the outside of her thighs and lowered his head between them. She rolled her crotch forward to meet him and let slip a moan of readiness. But instead of kissing her lips Tel slowly turned his head to kiss the inside of her thigh, which drew an impatient whine. He continued a trail of kisses down her thigh, and when he was due to kiss her lips he instead started at the other knee; working his way back down.  
“You're a cruel man, Tel,” Shayliss said unsteadily.  
“Mmm?” he replied, not leaving his torturous work.  
“Is this revenge for pushing you into the water?” she asked, trying to wriggle her crotch into his face.  
Tel laughed between kisses in confirmation and slowed his pace, making Shayliss squirm impatiently.  
“I'm sorry,” she said.  
“Mmm?”  
“I'm sorry I pushed you,” she said pleadingly.  
Having had his fun drawing an apology out of the supremely confident woman Tel decided she'd suffered enough and skipped the last few kisses down her thigh to dive into her crotch.

######

A while later a thoroughly satiated Shayliss looked up into the eyes of the man on top of her.  
“Your turn now,” she said vacantly, still riding the high of her most recent orgasm.  
Although exhausted Tel found a second wind for a few more energetic thrusts before stiffening suddenly, making a few last slower strokes and then gently collapsing on top of her. Their sweaty bodies made a soggy peeling noise when they parted as Tel rolled off her and onto his back on the grass.  
“Thanks for that, Tel,” she said to the sky.  
“Any time,” he replied, panting.  
Shayliss closed her eyes and revelled in the electric sensation that suffused her body, gently pulsing in in time with her heartbeat, and the euphoria it brought.  
“Got to hand it to you for keeping up, you pick things up quickly,” she said, turning her head to him.  
“You certainly don't lack creativity,” he said.  
“You're a team player, a rare quality in a man, they all balk at some of my directions,” she mused.  
Tel didn't know what to think, primarily because his mind was pleasantly dulled and his thoughts absent, but also because not many people had ever accused him of being a team player before. He supposed he could see the merit to it in something like this, with each person giving to the other in order to create a mutually enjoyable experience. It also helped that some deeply seated biological impulse completely overran his usual selfish survivalism.   
“Directions?” he asked with a laugh.  
“I know what I like, and I like to be in charge,” she said with a playful backhand to his gut.  
“Can't argue there.”

Suddenly there was a massive sniffing noise and Shayliss screamed in fright. Tel leapt to his feet just in time for her screams to turn to nervous laughter once she realised it was Hearth. Tel, just as surprised by Hearth as Shayliss, breathed a sigh of relief and reached out to pat him. Hearth sniffed and nosed her a couple more times apologetically, seeming to check that she was alright, before turning and warbling happily to Tel as he soaked up the pats. Tel yawned and Hearth pointedly turned back to the prone Shayliss and nosed her again. She reached up to pat his enquiring snout and he graciously accepted the attention, but he pulled away shortly, nodded at her twice and when she did nothing further he looked thoughtful then licked her. This got another, milder, shriek of surprise followed by a more relaxed laugh. Hearth croaked along before renewing his slobbery assault, forcing Shayliss to her feet to evade. Tel yawned again and smiled at Hearth’s antics. The sudden urge for sleep warred with a desire to be clean and he lazily looked over to the water, still sparkling in the moonlight.

“Alright, alright, I'm up,” Shayliss said to Hearth with a chuckle, and he relented.  
“Bath then bed?” Tel suggested as he walked over to the river.  
“Sounds like a plan,” she replied as she followed him, “it's gotten rather late.”  
The tired pair bathed wordlessly as the fatigue of the day and their more recent exertions caught up with them all at once. Once they were clean they got dressed with heavy limbs and climbed aboard patiently waiting Hearth. The journey passed with nodding heads and lidded eyes, but no conversation, as Hearth took them quietly back towards town. When he got to the bridge to Sandpoint he advanced slowly with his uncanny stealth and slipped past the guard. Once on the streets, abandoned as they were in the dead of night, he dropped his stealthy crouch and sped his strides but his footfalls remained eerily quiet. Hearth’s pace soon brought them to Shayliss stop and he lowered his head and shoulders until his chin nearly touched the ground for her to comfortably dismount.

“Thanks again for the evening, rat catcher,” she said with a wave as Hearth slowly raised his head.  
“Any time,” he said and then yawned.  
“The rats might come back again you know,” she said as she quietly opened her door.  
“You know where we’ll be,” Tel replied and patted Hearth to let him know he was ready for home.  
Shayliss stepped through the door and turned to watch the pair melt away into the night. When they were stolen from sight by the gloom she quietly closed the door and was pleased to hear her fathers snores coming from upstairs. Making her way to her room she quickly checked in on her sister to make sure she was still asleep too. When she saw her quietly sleeping she continued to her own room, changed into her nightie and got into bed. She closed her eyes and wondered where that sudden surge in libido had come from. She couldn't remember a time she'd ever been that horny, but she smiled as she recalled the evenings activities. She couldn't remember a time she'd had that much fun either, nor gotten to try out quite so much on her list of experiments. She had to admit he lacked that fiery intensity of some of her other partners, and it wasn't really something she could teach, but if that lack of machismo was what she payed for oral and a willingness to try things she could deal with it. Besides, her fiery stallion was only ever a whispered word and a wink away; she enjoyed variety as the spice of life after all. But, she decided, the rats would come back. More than once.

Tel was glad to see their little hay shed come into view and they wasted no time turning in for the night. Once he was laying in his usual spot on Hearth’s leg he closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him. He fidgeted a little when muscles made complaints of being overworked and his tongue ached from exertion, along with a few of his fingers, but as he took stock of the wear and tear of the nights adventures he had to admit it was worth it. Shayliss was incredibly attractive and incredibly skilled at her hobbies too. He noted that his earlier trepidation about developing a connection with her was gone and that he could accept that they didn't feel that way about each other. In place of the phobic fear of something he knew couldn't happen was a much more realistic apathy towards the idea. 

He was also pleased to find his mind drunk enough to be quiet. He wasn't yet ready to attribute any of that quietness to something permanent; like the possibility that project Sandpoint might be doing him good. But in the mean time he had to admit he found an evening with Shayliss even more effective than alcohol. His tired mind had little time for further introspection however, as sleep quickly over took him.

######

Tel was abruptly catapulted out of his slumber by Hearth moving under him and as soon as he was semi-coherent he identified rapid footsteps making their way over.   
“Tel, wake up,” said Uka with urgency in her voice.  
Tel opened his eyes and sat up more from the tone of Uka's voice than her words. He'd never heard her like that before, not even the night of the raid. He felt his usual self preservation instinct flash back to the fore of his mind. It told him that anything that was bothering Uka was a serious problem and that he should get as far away from it as possible.  
“What's wrong?” he asked, furrowing his brows as he stood.  
“You'd better come and see, but don't make a scene; we've discussed the irrationality of the townsfolk,” she said and turned back towards the inn.  
Tel looked to Hearth and the pair spent a moment in their hay shed holding each other's gaze. Hearth cooed questioningly, making it clear he'd follow Tel no matter what and that he could make the decision to stay or to go. Tel chewed his lip in frustration. 

He knew staying was stupid if something was seriously wrong. People trying to be heroes rarely had the happy endings spoken of in fairy tales and he had absolutely no interest in either himself or, worse, Hearth getting killed. Every fight was a risk, every melee potentially your last and so defending everyone was a stupid repetition of that risk. He wondered if that train of thought made him a coward, but he'd seen too many people bleed and die screaming in the pits to care. Hearth began his soothing drone just in time to stop Tel's mind from drowning in the dark sea of his memories and he let it calm his racing mind. He had Hearth with him now, unlike in his terrified recollections of the fighting pits, and the dragon certainly improved his odds in a fight. But Hearth was also the only reason he had to live. He closed his eyes and concentrated what little willpower he had on project Sandpoint. He wouldn’t be doing Hearths project any good by running, but then he also knew Hearth would neither ask him to stay, nor judge him for running. But somehow that complete support only made him feel wretched for even considering giving up. Tel knew Hearth would give anything for him, and the only real request the dragon made on their journey was Sandpoint; which turned out to be for him anyway. 

Tel took a mental step back. Hearth had been keen to fight the evening of the goblin raid and had only considered leaving Sandpoint for good in the days since when Tel had been letting the team down with his fears. He trusted Hearth and would follow him anywhere, as he knew Hearth would follow him, so if Hearth was happy to stay and tackle Uka's problem for the advancement of project Sandpoint- so was he. He reached out and touched Hearth’s nose for courage and strength, which turned into him hugging Hearths face when he nuzzled forward. Tel blew out a steadying breath and they walked and wriggled out of the hay shed having resolved to help Uka. Tel noticed she'd waited for them when they hadn't immediately jumped to her aid and she smiled at them when she saw them approach.  
“I'm glad you've decided to join me, there's not a moment to lose,” she said, walking towards the back of the inn as quickly as she thought she could without arousing suspicion.  
“What is the problem,” Tel asked, trying to keep the fear from his voice as he followed.  
He found himself afraid of the thing that gave Uka pause, but he would face it with Hearth.  
“Ameiko has gone missing. When Bethana arrived early this morning to help out she was unsurprised to find her absent from the kitchen as she assumed she was sleeping in. When she did not rise after a few raps on her door and joking admonishments Bethana investigated. When she did she found her bed empty, though there was evidence it had been slept in for part of the night, and a crumpled note on her desk beside a burned tinder twig,” Uka said as they walked.

They entered the kitchen to see Bethana sobbing at the table, note in hand.  
“What'd the note say?” asked Tel.  
“I'm not sure, it was written in the native tongue of Ameiko's father,” Uka replied and moved over to Bethana.  
Tel breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Uka was worried for the safety of Ameiko, and not about some impending disaster. Tel could handle a risk to someone else's life far better than he could a risk to his or Hearths. He didn't particularly like the idea of anything horrible happening to Ameiko, she'd always shown them kindness after all, but he didn't find her safety a compelling reason to risk his life. Though at the moment there was no such risk, and he decided that sticking with the problem at this stage would cost him only time.

Uka turned to Bethana and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.  
“Morning,” Bethana greeted in a shaky voice.  
Tel had no idea what to say or do around the obviously distraught halfling and so just looked over to Uka.  
“Can you tell us what the note said, please?” she asked in an attempt at a supportive tone.  
Bethana sniffed and wiped her nose.  
“Yeah, it's from her brother, Tsuto, it says that her father might be involved in the goblin raid and that she should meet him at the glassworks to discuss it,” she said, regaining her composure.  
“Interesting,” Uka stated flatly.   
“Uka, what are we going to do?” Bethana asked desperately, “she's never just disappeared before. Certainly never like this. And the letter. How the hell did she get it? She would have told me if she'd gotten it before I left last night. And I locked the front door, I'm sure of it, and Hearth was out the back; so how'd the delivery sneak in? I should've been more mindful.”

Uka pursed her lips. Hearth wasn't guarding the back door for a good portion of last night she realised, though in fairness Ameiko never locked the back door. The only reason she locked the front door was when she wanted to let people know the Rusty Dragon wasn't trading. Sandpoint was a small town and only during the reign of Chopper had doors been locked regularly.   
“Don't be blaming this on yourself,” Uka said sternly, having no time for non-constructive behaviours, “Tel, Hearth and I shall make our way to the glassworks and if she is not there we shall investigate her father’s house.”  
“I'll come with you,” Bethana said determinedly.  
“No,” Uka quickly countered, “if this is as I suspect it is, simply a case of Ameiko staying over late catching up with a brother she rarely sees, she will likely show up shortly wondering what the fuss is about. I will need you here in that eventuality.”  
“Oh… Ok then. You really think she's alright?” Bethana asked.

Uka didn't think that at all, and was deeply concerned for Ameiko's safety. The fact the note was crumpled and left on her desk indicates she was angry at getting it. The fact she left in the dead of night without telling anyone implied she thought the matter urgent enough to accept a midnight appointment. More worrying still was that her rapier was missing. She obviously felt that she might have need of weapons at this meeting- and now she was missing. But time was of the essence and Uka didn't have time to placate Bethana if she told her the truth, nor did she want the halfling to accompany her. So she lied.

“I'm nearly certain of it Bethana. Tel and I will check the likely places she chose to sleep the night and be back before you know it. On the off chance anything serious has happened Hearth will be with us, facilitating an easy rescue,” Uka said with an infectious certainty.  
Bethana nodded, holding back tears, and turned back to the note in her hands.

Tel looked between the two women and Hearth, waiting for something to happen. This really wasn't his forte and so he decided he'd just wait it out. Uka quickly gave Bethana a reassuring pat on the shoulder and then gave Tel a meaningful look before walking briskly out the back door. Tel followed her out into the courtyard and jogged a couple of strides to catch up.  
“So?” he asked the witch as Hearth fell into step with them.  
“I am deeply concerned for the safety of Ameiko. That incident with her father night before last might well be related to her disappearance sometime during last night. I fear her father may well be up to no good and Ameiko seems to agree with me, given she took her rapier with her. You should arm yourself too,” Uka said as she kept up her brisk walk.  
Tel picked up his sword and bracer as they passed the hayshed and affixed his bracer as they walked.  
“So you lied to Beth?” he said when he was done.  
“Tel I believe we've already been over the utility of controlling the flow of information. But yes, sometimes a little intangible manipulation can lead to desirable results,” she replied huffily, feeling the explanation a waste of time.  
“So where are going?” asked Tel, uncaring for the moral implications of Uka's methods.  
“To the glassworks, where I fear Ameiko entered late last night and has not left. I only hope we are not too late.”  
“We could actually run if you were that worried?”  
“No. It is unlikely that the couple of minutes would make that much difference to Ameiko's fate and running would likely invite unwelcome attention. Flow of information, remember?”

Tel nodded and kept up his brisk walk, occasionally glancing back to draw reassurance from Hearth. He found he was getting a little worried about this situation. Originally it had seemed like a search for Ameiko, not a daring rescue, and he was seriously considering calling off their involvement. But every time he looked back to Hearth the dragon looked almost eager and he couldn't bring himself to be the negative one yet again. Though he also knew that if one of them was killed it would be his fault. To quash his fears he told himself to trust Hearth, be involved in project Sandpoint and to follow Uka's advice to actually live his life. Why is this so fucking difficult for me, he wondered, gods why am I so fucking broken?  
“Because you place far too much responsibility on your shoulders, your selflessness is burning you out and your refusal to allow yourself to be happy all impede your quality of life with Hearth. Your fear of death prevents you from living the potentially-high-quality life you could enjoy with Hearth and you further exacerbate your problems by beating yourself up over the mental injuries you've sustained instead of giving them time to heal,” Uka stated factually.  
Tel froze and went white as a ghost as Uka's words.   
“Well you did ask,” Uka said unapologetically, stopping and turning to face him.

Part of him wanted to run, but part of him also knew she was right. He was so sick and tired of having to fight this same incessant mental battle every time anything mildly risky or vaguely reminiscent of the fighting pits came up. He wasn't in the pits anymore, and he had a life to live and enjoy. It was also a life to risk on what he saw fit. He knew in his heart that he and Hearth could live safely under a metaphorical rock until old age took him. He had also come to know, thanks in large part to Uka, that it would be a hollow existence. A calculated risk to his life in the name of Hearth’s project was a far better use of his years, and he knew it was probably the only way he'd ever heal or come to truly get the most out of his life. He would never throw his life away, not while Hearth was in it anyway, but he had to respect Hearth’s agency and his right to risk his life. If Hearth was going to risk his life then he'd choose to be right there with him, and he knew the reverse was true. Predictably his demons berated him for expecting Hearth to risk his life on his own account, but he countered the sentiment with Uka's truth about his selflessness burning him out and making him a downer. Besides, he needed to respect Hearth’s right to choose, not try to swaddle him. Certain in his conclusions he gritted his teeth and nodded. He promised himself that this would be the last time he'd fight this battle. He finally had his thoughts properly in order on the subject.

Hearth nudged him supportively, to let him know he was there, and Tel looked up into his friends giant eyes.  
“I'm fine Hearth, I think I've finally sorted something out in my head,” he said.  
Hearth cooed and nosed him again.  
“I think it'll help me… Ahh… Not be quite so stuck in my head every time we do things, potentially risky things, together,” he said with a smile, putting his hand on Hearth’s chin.  
Hearth rumbled happily at Tel's words.  
“Should make project Sandpoint easier going,” he continued and tightly hugged Hearth’s nosing head.  
It felt so good to say those things to Hearth and as the words left his mouth and he saw the reaction on Hearths face he felt like he'd made a real breakthrough on the road to recovery.

Uka listened and watched the exchange closely. She was incredibly relieved and she had to admit a little gladdened by what had just transpired. She usually tried to maintain a detached patient doctor relationship with people she felt needed her help but Tel's case was starting to grow on her. A day off and some stress relief seemed to have done him the world of good too she saw and she had to fight a smile off the corner of her mouth. Progress was being made.

Tel released his friend from his embrace and smiled up at him.  
“Back to our adventure?” he asked.  
The words were as much to Hearth as they were a way to test how well seated his new resolution was, and to his joy he found only a gut-level uneasiness in the place of the usual tsunami of negative thoughts and emotions. He smiled as he turned, proud of the progress he'd made for both himself and the effect it'd have on his friendship with Hearth. He exchanged a slightly awkward nod with Uka that returned them to their travels and the rest of the journey passed in silence and internalised elation.

As they walked the last few yards up to the looming bare-stone behemoth that was the glassworks Uka broke the silence.  
“I'm not sure what we’re going to find here, but I'm worried it won't be good. I had Ula run ahead of us and she has not reported a single one of the workers who live on-site stepping outside to relieve himself.”  
“Ok then, what's the plan?” Tel asked, trusting Uka's judgement on these matters.  
“If there is trouble inside we’ll want Hearth so we're going to have to enter via the loading dock. However, it's not able to be opened from the outside. I'll slip in through the service door, open the loading door and then we'll move in and look for Ameiko,” she said, leading them around to the back of the immense structure.  
As they went Tel noticed an unhelpful lack of windows through which he might peer, and he realised it would make the interior incredibly claustrophobic. But he buried the thoughts with help from the sounds of Hearth at his back and pressed on.

The trio soon came to the loading dock and the small door next to it that Uka had mentioned. The heavy wooden double doors of the loading dock sat four feet above the ground while the service door was reached by a small staircase.  
“Wait here while I pick the lock,” she said and moved over to the service door.  
Once she was there she extended a tentacle of hair into the keyhole and concentrated hard on the task of manipulating the mechanism. Despite it looking for all the world like nothing was happening there was only a short pause before a low click issued from the lock and the door swung inwards. Uka looked back at the waiting Tel and Hearth before peeking around the door and slipping through, into the darkness. A moment later the double doors swung outward under the pressure of numerous strands of hair and revealed the interior of a storage area. Its walls were lined with shelves and the interior full of wooden crates, presumably full of completed glass wares, while barrels of colouring admixtures were lined in rows to one side. The area was illuminated only by the light coming in through the door, casting deep shadows that might conceal anything. Through the gloom however could be seen two doors; one was iron and the other wooden.

Uka motioned for them to enter and then melted into the shadows to investigate. Tel clambered up the four feet into the storeroom while Hearth ducked his head and stepped through the doorway, being careful not to disturb the contents of the room. As his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting Tel found he could make out the contents of the room but still couldn't spot Uka. Suddenly the darkness to his left disgorged her and he nearly jumped at her appearance.   
“The iron doors lead to the main furnace room, but the wooden door leads to the workers quarters and offices. It is incredibly suspicious that we've seen no signs of activity so far, and it deepens my concerns for Ameiko,” Uka said in a whisper, ignoring Tel's surprise.  
“Where you thinking to check first?” asked Tel quietly.  
“Although Ameiko is our primary concern I will quickly check on the workers area first, given more lives may be at risk here,” she replied.  
Tel nodded, despite caring nothing for the lives of the workers. He had to admit that other than Hearth the only other things he cared about at all were Uka and Ameiko, and that now he was here and there was clearly something amiss and neither he nor Hearth were in any immediate danger he was perhaps a tiny bit keen to find Ameiko.

Uka quietly made her way over to the wooden door with Tel and Hearth close behind and opened it slowly with her hair. Thankfully the door didn't creak and the moment it left its frame the stench of blood hit them. All three looked through to see great smears of the stuff running from the open doors leading to the sleeping quarters down the hallway.  
“That explains the lack of activity,” Tel said quietly.  
“Indeed. And it makes pointless a search for survivors. The quantity of blood here and the smears of it that I suspect were made by dragged bodies indicates they were killed violently in their sleep,” said Uka dispassionately.  
“Looks like Ameiko's brother was right about goblin involvement,” Tel added, pointing to the small bloody boot print that occupied one of the only parts of the floor not smeared in blood.

Suddenly there was the crash of breaking glass and the excited squeals of several goblins coming from behind the iron doors.  
“Looks like you are correct,” Uka said as she moved over to investigate the noise.  
She listened at the door but all she could hear was the distant roar of the furnaces and the seal on the doors was too tight for her to peek through. She motioned for Tel and Hearth to come over too and they moved quietly to join her.

“You ready?” She asked.  
Tel and Hearth exchanged a look and a smile and Tel was glad to still feel only that sense of uneasiness instead of his usual inner monologue. He knew opening that door was a risk, but it was one he was willing to take. It was to aid Hearth, to further their project, to help him recover, to be doing something together with his best friend and possibly even a small part of it was to help Ameiko. He looked at Hearth and saw the same readiness, for he suspected the same reasons, in his eyes. He gave Hearth’s nose a pat and drew his sword.  
“Ready,” he confirmed.

Uka moved her hair to open the doors but Hearth beat her to it and, crouching low, shoulder barged the iron. The doors burst open under his strength and goblin shrieks of surprise accompanied the clang of the doors as they flew from their hinges. Tel had read his friends intentions and was moving forward between Hearths front legs as he'd breached the doors. The room they'd entered was thankfully huge and offered plenty of room for Hearth to move and fight. Along the exterior wall huge furnaces were lined, their dull roar and orange glow giving the room a hellish quality. The floor space was occupied by tables upon which sat glassworks in various stages of completion and the tools of the glaziers trade. Scattered about the room were the defiled bodies of the glaziers. Their clothes had been largely cut from their bodies and the exposed flesh mutilated for the enjoyment of the goblins. Some of the mutilations were encased in glass, poured molten onto the goblins handiwork in a feeble parody of the tortured figure seated in the centre of the room. The charred and bloody figure sitting in the middle of the room was almost entirely covered in glass, the layered flows evidence of many pourings- the last of which had frozen the figures face forever in an agonised scream.

Tel had seen worse however and he was far more worried about the multitude of goblins scampering around the room taking cover. They were too mobile and hard to keep track of to make an accurate count and they hadn't immediately fled at the sight of Hearth bursting through the door, which was suspicious for the normally cowardly creatures.  
“Careful with your fire until we locate Ameiko my friend, we don't want to accidentally incinerate her,” Tel said to Hearth from between his feet.  
Hearth nodded his agreement and then let out a low, rumbling growl. Tel looked around the room to assess the situation. After what Ameiko had said yesterday, about him being the team member who handled threat assessment, he found it was probably the best way for him to contribute in a fight. 

One wall was covered in furnaces, and the other was where all the tables were, which left a clear thoroughfare between them; currently polluted with bodies. He decided it would be best if they advanced up the tables side and drove the goblins out of cover and toward the hungry maw of the furnaces.  
“Hearth, let's push up through the tables,” he said and patted Hearths leg to indicate he was ready to move.  
Hearth immediately began to stalk forward into the heat and eerie glow. Tel quickly glanced back to find Uka and saw her hugging the wall slightly behind them, following them up the flank. Briefly Tel resented that Hearth was shouldering the majority of the risk here, but the dragon seemed to be loving it and Tel put his faith and support behind Hearth and his choice. They kept moving forward until they came to the first table. Tel tried to look under it but the space was occupied by boxes and supplies, so he tried to peer over it. His attempt was cut short however when Hearth simply reared up and crushed it beneath his paws. Tel threw his arm up to his eyes to protect them from the flying debris and when he lowered his arm he noticed a dozen goblin archers popping up to take their shots.

“Hearth, look out!” he shouted and was surprised when Hearth moved to cover him and not himself.  
Hearth put a leg between Tel and the archers and quickly tucked his head behind it too. Tel looked into Hearths eye as the arrows struck and was relieved to hear them skipping off dragon scales but the momentary wince from his eyelid was evidence that at least one had found flesh. Hearth withdrew his head the moment the barrage was over but it took Tel a moment to recover his wits after watching the pain on his friends face. He recovered quickly however, and just as well, as Hearth was eager to get his revenge. Realising an assault by Hearth was probably going to happen anyway Tel decided he might as well get on board with it. He leapt up and wrapped himself around Hearths left front leg, which was all the encouragement Hearth needed. They'd practiced this one before and it allowed Tel to keep up with the far more mobile Hearth, while still letting him fight from the safety of between Hearths legs. Hearth tucked his wings in close and sprang forward, carrying the pair of them to the front of the cluster of goblins.

They landed hard on a table, and although it was crushed by Hearth it made for treacherous footing for Tel. Not only was it lumpy and uneven, but it was studded with broken glass. Tel had three choices. He could remain on Hearths leg, hold on with one arm and stand on his paw, but doing so would limit both their options. He could chance the footing on the broken table or he could jump forward into the goblin’s little patch of open flooring between tables. There were only three of them, and they were armed only with unloaded bows. With Hearth right there to back him up he decided that the offensive seemed to be the best path. He crouched low and then threw himself forward, forgoing a swing at the stunned goblins while he was airborne in hopes of making a solid landing. He got both feet firmly on the ground and arrested his momentum with a hand on the table behind the goblins. Acutely aware of how exposed he was and banking on the goblins taking time to draw effective melee weapons he quickly spun to his right. Only one goblin was in front of him and if he could kill it quickly he could turn back to face the other two before they could stab him in the back.

He thrust his sword forward in the hopes of a quick kill but his diminutive opponent was more skilled than Tel had realised. It threw its bow across its front, deflecting Tel's stab enough to be able to sidestep around it, before drawing its own blade while Tel brought his sword back to the ready. Looking to buy himself time from the assailant still at his back Tel stepped forward. The goblin gave way and slashed at Tel's shin as they moved, but Tel had expected as much and crouched low to block the strike with his bracer. Too late he realised the goblins ploy as it punched up at him. He tried to block with his blade, but the crafty goblin had not given as much ground as it appeared and was well within his guard. The mailed fist landed right on his cheek and the impact momentarily stunned him. The goblin wasted no time in pressing its advantage and cocked its sword arm back to thrust into Tel's gut. Tel, in his dazed condition, had enough awareness to know what the goblin was planning, but not enough command over his limbs to counter it. In desperation he called on the only part of his body that seemed to still be responding, his legs, and tried to punish his opponent for his close proximity. He aimed a knee at its head and, sure enough, it closed the gap before the goblin could make his strike.

The sensation of his knee connecting with the goblins chin sat somewhere between pain and nausea but it left both combatants on an equally disoriented footing. Both took an involuntary step backwards and Tel felt something warm and slick run down his side. He suddenly remembered the foe he'd left at his back and deduced he'd been stabbed; that was until a severed goblin arm dropped off his shoulder. His assailant looked at the solitary limb and then his horrified gaze tracked up to something behind Tel. Confident that it was Hearth holding the goblins attention and seeing his chance to end the fight in this moment of distraction, Tel lunged for the goblins throat. It realised too late that it's momentary lapse had cost it its life and Tel's blade sunk into its neck. It clutched pitifully at the wound as it sucked wind and gushed blood then it slumped to the ground.

Tel looked back to see Hearths jaws bloody and no trace of the goblin at his back save the arm on the ground. The third seemed to have come down with a nasty case of broken neck, but Uka was nowhere in sight. Movement flashed in the corner of his eye and Tel's split second reaction to duck only narrowly saved him from the second volley of goblin arrows. Tel dropped down to sit with his back against the table and watched in horror as the barrage struck Hearth. Another two arrows found their mark, the flows of blood from the wounds running into the flow from the first, and Hearth roared in anger and pain. Yet despite his injuries Tel could tell the dragon was in his element. Hearth was loving this, and it occurred to Tel that this was the first time he'd ever seen him fighting on a full stomach. He also wondered whether their small gains in project Sandpoint was starting to lift a different kind of burden from Hearths shoulders. 

As soon as the barrage was over Hearth seemed to drop his battlelust and looked down at Tel to make sure he was ok. Tel gave him a smile and pushed himself to his feet. Seeing that his friend was ok Hearth let out another roar and let his fury return to the fore. Tel could see Hearth was eager to push further into the rows of tables to flush out the archers hiding there and so he quashed the shame and guilt he felt over Hearths injuries with his epiphany. He ran to Hearths leg and held on tightly, his stomach turning more from the feeling of his friends blood running down his arm than from the lurch as Hearth leapt forward. Looking along their trajectory he spotted the cluster of goblins Hearth intended to land among and found fear gripping his throat. 

His resolution about them risking their lives had been easier to make outside. But here he was, Hearths blood flowing over his hand and hot on the heels of a fight that could easily have gone pear-shaped. He reminded himself that this was their choice, that they both chose to be here, but more importantly they were doing this together; for project Sandpoint. He drew strength from the presence of his friend and cleared his mind to ready himself for the next fight. 

Deciding this time around to sacrifice his sure footing for getting the first licks in he let go of Hearths leg a moment before they landed and let him momentum carry him into the first, surprised goblin. His gamble paid off and, sword point leading, he impaled it through the chest before his feet hit the ground. Unfortunately his vanquished foe acted as an anchor and he couldn't get his feet under himself in time to prevent falling. Suspecting this might happen he rolled his weight to one side, pulling the dying goblin on top of himself as he hit the ground. Another goblin sought to kill him while he was prone, but he manoeuvred the corpse as a shield and it absorbed the goblins overhead chop admirably with a crunch of blade on bone. Tel aimed a kick at his attackers legs and managed to land it, sending the smaller combatant sprawling. Mustering his strength he pushed the dead goblins body off his own and sat up to assess his situation. 

The first thing he noticed was Hearths paw, claws like daggers, closing impossibly quickly on his head. Briefly his instinct demanded he duck, but he didn't want to waste the time given the victim of his kick was hardly out of the fight, so he gritted his teeth and trusted Hearths accuracy. He'd always known Hearth to be supernaturally graceful and so it didn't surprise him when the claws passed a fraction of an inch from his face, the air ruffling his hair as they passed, before slamming into the head of a goblin behind him. Tel knew he should be chiding himself for not even being aware of the threat at his back, but he couldn't help the warmth that settled in his heart from knowing just how completely Hearth had his back. 

Returning his mind to the task at hand he was pleased to note that the split second he spent engaging in trust exercises with Hearth the goblin he kicked had spent clutching its nose. Tel dived forward and stabbed it in the back, his strike jarringly halted by his blade hitting the floor. It soon went still, lying in a slowly growing pool of blood. Suddenly there was a roar from Hearth and then a weight on his back that drove him down flat on his most recent kill. The weight began to move and kicked him in the back of the head while Tel tried to push himself up with one hand, the other still holding his sword impaling the goblin. Knowing he was in serious trouble yet again Tel made a desperate move. He released his grip on his sword and rolled, throwing everything he had into dislodging his piggybacker. As he fell from his bed on the corpse a strike that would have killed him had he not unbalanced his attacked slashed him across the ribs. The pain was dulled by adrenaline but he knew he'd been hit and it was never a good for morale. 

He completed his roll and was further disheartened to feel that the damn goblin had come with him. He had trapped its leg beneath him initially and had come to lie on top of it. Feeling it's foul breath panting on the back of his neck he threw his head back and immediately regretted it. It felt like head butting a box of nails. The goblins teeth, filed to points, bit into his scalp as the bone on bone impact that was their skulls colliding sent stars across his vision. Reflexively Tel swore and reached his hand to grab the injury. The movement at his back had stopped however and he rolled onto his elbow and pushed himself away. He saw the goblin, mouth bloodied, spit out a handful of teeth before turning a glare seething with rage and pain on him.   
“I cut you slow fer that, longshanks,” it slurred in the common tongue.  
Tel didn't waste time replying. Instead, noticing his foe was disarmed also, he dived at the goblin and after a brief tousle he was straddling it. Fending off its slaps and punches as best he could with his right hand he punched the armoured gauntlet on his left into its nose.

The goblin screamed and yelled incoherently and Tel punched it again, sending its head into the floor with a crack. It kept wailing and so Tel kept punching, very quickly turing its face into a bloody ruin. Its bottom jaw broken and disfigured, its eyes closed by the mashed remains of its cheeks, the goblin began to fit and spasm. Tel just kept punching the mangled face until it lay still.

Uka watched the pair fighting between her own contributions to the fray with a mixture of awe and worry. She noted that Hearth hadn't employed his fiery breath, and for that she was grateful. She didn't want the whole structure burned to the ground with them, and potentially Ameiko, inside. But it seemed to do little to dull Hearths offensive capabilities. She watched as he swiped at a goblin closing on Tel from behind and she was sure he was going to kill Tel along with his intended target, but Tel was missed by and impossibly small margin, while the goblin was not so lucky. She saw Hearth crush a goblin with a paw and then almost in one movement bite another off at the waist, his graceful movements all smoothly following on from one another; he wasted no motion at all it seemed. But despite his prowess it wasn't all going Hearths way. Without Tel fighting with him to block some of the goblins attacks he was taking hits as while he was killing one goblin, another was chopping at his legs. Although his scales absorbed the majority of it there was still a lot of draconic blood flowing from a dozen little wounds. Uka judged it to be non-lifethreatening but she resolved to check up on Hearth after the battle.

The one she was worried about was Tel. She watched him beat the goblin to death with savage punches from his armoured fist, but that wasn't what she worried about. Nor was she worried about his safety; she was worried about his mind. There was no feral expression of bloodlust on Tel's face as he did his gory work, only a look of concentration. Most people needed fire in their heart to properly beat a creature to death, but Tel seemed to require only that it die. 

Tel put one last punch into the goblins head and retrieved his sword from where it still stuck out of the goblins corpse. He immediately moved to Hearth and conducted another trust exercise as he did. Hearth was a whirlwind of slashing claws and biting teeth, but Tel knew his place was in the eye of the storm under Hearths chest and to get there he'd have to brave it. Trusting Hearths control and awareness he ran straight towards his goal and was pleased to find his faith rewarded when he stopped himself on Hearths leg and was not eviscerated. Now that he was back where he belonged with Hearth he noticed just how much damage the dragon had taken. None of it looked serious but he still hated to see his friend hurt. 

In the moment he spent looking at Hearths injuries the battle ended. Hearth, Tel and Uka all stopped, each looking for their next target but finding none and then slowly relaxing their stances. Before Tel could gather his thoughts there was a zip as an arrow cut the air somewhere above him and a dull rip as it found a home in Hearths flesh. Tel looked for the goblin that had fired it but saw none of the diminutive creatures alive. Hearth shrieked and thrashed, sharply at odds with his reaction to the other injuries he'd sustained in the fight, and Tel's stomach dropped. He looked up, terrified of what he might see, and saw an arrow, buried almost to flights, protruding from Hearths neck. Frozen in horror he just stood there as Hearth thrashed in pain, oblivious to the danger his friends wild movements posed.

Uka looked over at the unfolding scene and felt a knot of worry form in her gut. If anything happened to Hearth Tel would never recover, not to mention he was the best defence Sandpoint had against the goblins. She had no choice but to ensure Hearths survival, for all their sakes, but while she was trying to mentally plan her application of healing magic another arrow flew out of nowhere and struck Hearth in the face. The arrow missed his eye by only a hairs breadth and had Hearth not jerked his head at the last instant he would likely have lost the eye; she had to admit she was amazed at the acuity of Hearths senses and the speed of his reactions. She wasn't keen for Hearth to give another live demonstration however and she set about finding the archer. Her keen mind froze the memory of Hearth and the arrow just at the point of impact and she traced its trajectory across the room to a small doorway she'd not noticed during the fighting.

“Hearth!” Tel cried as the second arrow hit home.  
He realised what this archer was up to, targeting weak spots, and devised a plan.  
“Hearth, turn around and duck your head!” he yelled up at his friend.  
He knew Hearth still had very little respect for manufactured weapons and thought it was unlikely that he'd give ground or seek cover from something he considered puny, like arrows, but he trusted Hearth to trust him. Sure enough Hearth didn't hesitate to follow Tel's advice and immediately turned his rump to the shooter and ducked his head, presenting only his tail and hindquarters as a target. Another arrow flew out of nowhere but found only thick muscle to embed itself into. Desperately Tel searched for the archer, but the glow of the furnaces cast strange shadows and kept his eyes from being able to adjust to the gloom at the edges of the room. Suddenly there was a flash of light and a multi-hued dust settled over a human sized figure standing in a doorway on the far side of the room.

Tel realised he hadn't even spotted the doorway, much less the archer, during his search. But now both were aglow and the archer seemed preoccupied trying to wipe the strange glowing dust from his eyes.  
“Now Hearth! Over there!” Tel shouted as he leapt onto Hearths leg and pointed.  
Again Hearth moved immediately on Tel's word and took the pair of them across the rest of the room in two colossal bounds. As they closed Tel realised the archer was human, and bore exotic features similar to those of Ameiko. The archer wiped his eyes clean just in time to see Hearth pouncing on him and he threw up his arm in a feeble attempt at a defence.  
“Don't kill him!” Uka shouted as Hearths toothy maw descended on the petrified figure.  
Tel heard the words just as they connected and he wasn't sure whether Hearth heard them and only partially acknowledged them, or whether he didn't hear them and planned it all along. Either way Hearth closed his bite early, catching only the defensively held arm between his teeth and shearing it off near the shoulder.

The archer screamed and clutched his stump while pissing himself in fright. Hearth swallowed the severed limb and, blood still dripping from his mouth, brought his snout to within an inch of the archers face. He bared his gory teeth and growled, making it very clear who was in control here. Uka ran towards the scene hoping she could catch the man before he bled to death. A prisoner would be incredibly useful in getting to the bottom of exactly what was going on with the goblin attack on Sandpoint and how it was connected to the theft of Tobyns remains. A corpse, however, helped her not at all. And so she began incanting her healing magic as she ran towards the paralysed archer.

Tel looked at the expression of pure terror on the mans face and realised just how horrific Hearth must seem to his enemies. He smiled at the thought but it was soon forgotten when he noticed the slight points on the mans ears. He was undoubtedly of the same ancestry as Ameiko, but his ears revealed an elven component to his heritage as well. Tel fingered the grip of his sword anxiously. He so badly wanted to run his blade through the gut of the one who had caused Hearth such injury, and in injuring Hearth the man had also caused him a great deal of anxiety. Hearing Hearth cry out like that made him fear for his friends life, and that of course sent his mind to the only other time he'd been afraid for Hearths life; the day they escaped. But Uka had wanted the archer spared, and if Hearth could spare that piece of shit, then so could he. 

His desire for revenge burnt out in an instant as it was smothered by concern for Hearth. Tel looked up at the arrow lodged so deeply in Hearths neck and wondered if he dared to pull it out. He knew that arrows in that deep often did less damage if they were pushed through, but on a creature of Hearths size that wasn't really an option. He wanted so badly to remove the source of his friends discomfort, yet he knew that he didn't really know what he was doing and that with a resource like Uka around it made little sense to make the attempt himself. He heard Uka begin casting a spell and was glad that she seemed to be on the same page on the issue. He turned to see what she was up to and was angry to see her using her magic on the archer, and not on Hearth.

“What the fuck?” he demanded angrily, gesturing to where Uka was sealing the mans bleeding stump.  
“Tel,” Uka replied from her work, “this is perhaps our best lead so far on the topic of the goblin attacks and I will not let him die on us.”  
Tel knew she was right but hated it all the same.  
“Besides Tel, the amount of blood Hearth has lost, although alarming to you or I, is hardly enough to be a concern to a creature of Hearths stature. Further, he doesn't seem to be overly bothered by his injuries. If I'm honest, I'm more concerned for that gash on your ribs. That's not to say however, that I will not be doing an incredibly thorough job of tending to Hearth once the more time-sensitive injuries have been dealt with.”  
Uka looked up from what she was doing to show Tel that she respected his concerns for Hearth and that she took his wellbeing seriously. She knew that to do otherwise would likely damage their relationship and that she could not afford. For his part Tel had come to trust Uka as a practical and honest person, and knew intellectually if not felt, that she was right about the urgency of their respective injuries. 

As if on cue Hearth made a point of straightening his posture and looking at Tel reassuringly.  
“I'll not apologise for worrying about you, Hearth,” Tel said, trying for a smile.  
He was determined not be be the wet blanket. Hearth was obviously loving this, and, really, no serious injuries had been sustained. Live your life, he told himself, to reaffirm his earlier resolution and he was pleased to find that his usual torrent of thoughts that demanded they live in absolute safety was absent; even after a vicious melee in which they were injured. He smiled to himself, more genuinely this time, and found he was finally making progress.  
“Looks like you caught our first good lead in the defence of Sandpoint,” he said to Hearth.  
Hearth looked like he was happy enough to burst, and an involuntary shiver ran down his back and sent his tail wiggling as Tel spoke.   
“First big win in project Sandpoint too, my dear friend,” Tel added, and he was surprised to find tears welling in his eyes. The mixture of pride in himself and, far more importantly, the overwhelming joy of Hearth was the most intense emotion he'd felt in what felt like forever, and it was certainly the most powerful positive one. The only thing in his life that had come close was their escape, but he'd been in no position to feel anything then, much less enjoy it. So there he stood, completely still, tears rolling down his cheeks as the overwhelmingly strange, but altogether happy, feeling settled in his mind and body.

Uka noticed that when Hearth had looked away to Tel the spell of Hearths fear on their prisoner was broken and, almost imperceptibly at first, he was starting to move. His eyes were darting back and forward and his muscles were twitching as the huge surge of adrenaline in his system finally started to win the war against his terror. The last thing Uka wanted was a noncompliant patient. Not only might he cause injury to them, but he might die and thus render himself useless to her so she decided to bewitch him. Usually she avoided such overt magical control over people, instead providing an impetus and letting people make their own decisions with the weights she’d placed on their options. Like the previous evening- she hadn't actually magically forced anyone to do anything, all she’d done was provide a little stimulus and let nature run its course. What she had planned here was very different. 

“Hold still boy or the healing magic won’t hold and you'll exsanguinate,” she said, looking straight into the frightened young mans eyes.  
He obeyed and she began to cast a spell, but it had nothing to do with healing. Maintaining her eye contact Uka incanted the spell and stole his free will, replacing his thoughts with only a genuine desire to behave towards her like the best of friends. While total, slavish control was something she was still working on, this spell could get anyone to say almost anything. Now all she needed to do was tell him what to say.

“Who are you?” she asked bluntly, returning to her work on his stump; she didn't want him dying mid interrogation.  
“I'm Tsuto Kaijitsu, brother of Ameiko,” he replied.  
“What were you doing?” she continued.  
“I was securing passage into town for the army of my beautiful lover, whilst trying to save Ameiko from the fate that awaited all you pathetic scum by getting her to join me,” he replied proudly.  
Uka wondered what kind of person would enthusiastically lump a friend in with the ‘pathetic scum’ and then tell that to their face. She shrugged. Her Mind control magic was in its early stages of development, a few bugs were to be expected she supposed. Reining in her thoughts she realised that he must already have some way in to town, as evidenced by the goblin corpses littering the glassworks.  
“What was your plan?” she asked.  
“To smuggle the goblins in through the old smugglers tunnels that run under the glassworks and out past the north wall. Then they would burn the village and its imbecilic inhabitants as an offering to Lamashtu, and my stunning lover would be elevated in the eyes of the mother of monsters.”  
“Hmm,” Uka replied, trying to puzzle it out. She was beginning to form a theory and she had a suspicion she wanted him to confirm.  
“So who was the man in the chair?” she asked.  
“My father.”

That confirmed the pattern Uka thought she saw emerging here. The half elven heritage for sure made him a bastard, and for a family like the Kaijitsus he must have been a great shame. That would likely mean getting a rough time from his father and likely snubbed by the rest; which would leave him seeking approval where he could find it. That need for approval could be easily manipulated by this beautiful lover of his and turned into a fanatic devotion deep enough to kill his father. Though it was likely Tsuto held a lot of anger towards his father as evidenced by the extremely nasty way the old man died. The theory also fitted the facts where Ameiko was concerned. She was a kind hearted sort who would likely have held no ill will towards him based on his parentage and been his one lifeline, and that was what likely led to his attempt to spare her from the planned massacre. 

“Where is Ameiko?” Uka asked with ice in her tone.  
“She is down in the tunnel. My foolish sister called my plan madness and my lover an abusive cunt. She refused to allow me to carry out my plans, so she had to be stopped.”  
Stones settled in Uka's stomach.  
“Is she dead?” she asked.  
“No, I hope to talk her around, though if she refuses she will be for the altar. We are dear friends, you and I,” he said, motioning to Uka, “I can arrange for you to be spared too.”

Tel had been celebrating his win and soaking up his little slice of happiness and so had only been paying loose attention to what Uka was up to. But now that he gave it some thought he found what she was doing both incredible and terrifying. The ability to crush someone's will like that was amazing and he found his respect for her abilities was still growing. A small and outdated piece of him viewed her as a massive threat, should things ever sour between them, but he remained confident of Hearths chances in that hypothetical fight. But more than that he remained confident in Hearths judgement and decided that however powerful Uka was, she was unlikely to ever turn her power on them; instead she and her power had done nothing but help them. It was also proving incredibly useful right now and he could see the value of the information they were getting here. He turned from Hearth with a genuine smile to his friend. Here at last was a train of thought he could be proud of, one that didn't need to be repeatedly derailed and course corrected before it could send his mind into a downward spiral.

Tel looked at the conversation taking place next to him and had to wonder what was going through this guys mind. But before Tel could ponder too long on the thought Tsuto’s face abruptly turned into a mask of terror and he clapped his hand over his mouth.  
“What did I say?” he asked himself in an anguished whisper.  
“Enough to lead me to believe you are a misguided idiot. You can still make this right however,” Uka said sternly.  
Tsuto eyes went wide.  
“No! You witch!” he yelled.  
Tsuto looked at the stump of his arm, freshly stabbing from Uka's spell, and then towards the glowing mouth of the nearest furnace.  
“My beloved will resurrect me!” he cried as he dived into the fire.  
He screamed in agony and the stench of burnt hair filled the air as he thrashed about in the coals, his movements becoming stiff and his scream a whisper as his flesh charred to bone.

Tel, Hearth and Uka just looked between each other, each wearing a puzzled expression.  
“Huh. That was strange,” said Tel, breaking the silence.  
“Indeed. He seemed awfully certain of the reciprocation of his devotion, didn't he?” Uka mused.  
“Fuck him, let's just find Ameiko,” Tel said with a shrug.  
“Yes, let's. Though it's a pity I didn't get to question him further,” Uka said as she led them through the door Tsuto had been hiding behind.  
The door was too small to accommodate Hearths bulk and so he stayed behind, neck as far through as it would go. The pair advanced into the small room beyond the door and, finding it to be little more than a landing for a descending staircase, advanced down the stairs. Tel willed his fears to the back of his mind as they went, his claustrophobia held at bay by his new resolution and regular glances back to Hearths soothing face. At the bottom of the stairs they found another small door. Tel wondered if he could step through by himself. Images of the skeletal child monster that attacked him beneath Choppers Isle assaulted resolve and he knew, if he was honest, that he wouldn't be able to venture further. He was far more attached to Hearth than Ameiko.

Thankfully when Uka opened it it revealed a small room, containing only a table against one wall and a bed against the other. In the bed lay a badly beaten and bloodied, but alive, Ameiko. She was bound and seemingly unconscious, but her chest rose and fell in worryingly shallow breaths and Uka wasted no time in moving to her side and immediately began a healing spell. Tel paused at the threshold. It was only this room, it didn't go any further he told himself, but still he couldn't step through. She'd shown him nothing but kindness and here he was, too afraid to stray from Hearths watchful gaze, to go to her aid. He looked back to Hearth who warbled encouragingly and nodded his head for Tel to go on. Tel looked from Hearth back to Ameiko, where Uka had her fingers gently pressed against her neck, and took a deep breath. He knew what Hearth wanted him to do, he knew what project Sandpoint wanted him to do, he knew what common decency and what the beginnings of friendship wanted him to do. Only Hearths desire gained any traction in his mind, but he knew he needed to start at least trying to care about the other reasons too. So, using Hearth as the reason, and tacking that others on as best he could, he took one step into the room and one away from his past.

Now that he was in he just pushed on, and he was pleased to find within himself some small reaction to seeing Ameiko's battered face up close. Where once he would have dismissed the tiny feeling as weakness likely to get him and Hearth killed he now held onto it for all he was worth.  
“She’s in a bad way,” Uka said when she heard Tel approach.  
Tel was no stranger to blood and injury, but he was also no healer and so he had to take Uka's word for it.  
“Think she’ll live?” he asked.  
“I'm nearly certain of it. I've magic enough to stop the bleeding, the majority of which is internal, but as for the fullness of her recovery- that is another matter,” Uka said, stepping back to stand level with Tel.

Uka looked to the young man and tried to read his face. She had hoped it would be a very human expression of concern, and feared that it would be an impassive mask. Sadly it was closer to the latter, but edging the mask was the suggestion of caring. She could see the concentration in his eyes and it occurred to her that he may very well be trying to force an emotional reaction. The possibility made her smile; realising you had a problem was half way to fixing it and trying to fix it got you a good way along the rest.  
“Well, are you just going to stare at her?” Uka asked with a modicum of sarcasm in her tone.  
“What?” replied Tel, drawn from his emotional endeavours.  
“We can't very well leave her here to die now, can we? We should get her back to her room, and I'll care for her there,” she replied.  
“You want me to carry her?” Tel asked cautiously.  
“Only if you can't teleport her,” Uka said with a raised eyebrow.

Of course Uka wanted Tel to carry her. Holding another life in his arms, and a fading one at that, was a great opportunity to inject a little more humanity into his troubled life. She couldn't tell him this however, as that would ruin the effect, but she was curious to note how he seemed apprehensive at the thought of carrying her.  
“She won't bite,” Uka said with a smile when Tel didn't move.  
“Yeah, I know,” said Tel, a little testily.  
He moved over to the side of the bed and tried to figure out how to pick her up. She looked so fragile and he was worried about making her condition worse, even if only because Hearth would be disappointed if she died. And he had to admit he was slightly less than ambivalent about her fate himself. She'd always been good to them, and had never given them any reason to want her dead, which left her in his newly created category for people. It joined the existing categories of Hearth, enemies, and everybody else and it was called associates.

Admitting that he cared, even if only a little and for varied reasons, felt like a strange mixture of success and hated vulnerability. Holding onto the success and pushing down the rest he gently rolled Ameiko just enough to get an arm around her back and he pushed his had up under her far-side arm to ensure a good hold. Then he wiggled an arm under her knees and gently lifted here from the bed. As he held her in his arms she felt warm and so alive and yet, so very vulnerable. He looked down at her closed eyes and the drying blood crusting her face and didn't know what to think.  
“Let's get her home,” Uka said from his side.


	7. Chapter7

They moved quickly through the town with Tel and Ameiko riding Hearth, and Uka distracting anyone who got close enough to potentially spot Ameiko's sorry state. The injured woman was sitting in front of Tel and kept making alarming attempts to fall off Hearths back as he trotted along; leaving Tel holding on quite a bit tighter than he thought was wise. When at last they reached the rear of the inn Uka dropped her charade of cheery greetings and a dour expression replaced her forced smile.  
“Let her down gently you two,” she said sternly to Tel and Hearth.  
She trusted them to do no different but she needed everyone to be playing their part in her plan and she might as well get the obedience going early. Hearth lowered himself gracefully to the ground and then gently rolled his neck to allow Tel to scoop Ameiko back up.  
“Follow me, Tel,” she said as she made for the back door.  
Tel wasted no time obeying and as soon as he was clear of Hearth the dragon got up and followed them. Uka opened the back door with a length of hair and startled Bethana who was still sitting, sobbing, at the kitchen table.

“Uka,” she gasped, “what news of Ameiko?”  
“We found her,” Uka said, choosing not to put any comfort into her tone, “she is badly injured, but clings to life and I believe her chances are good.”  
Bethana’s face was stoic until Uka stepped aside and she saw the bloodied form of her best friend in Tel's arms. It was too much for Bethana and her face contorted into the very definition of grief before she ran to Tel's side.  
“My gods girl, what have they done to you,” she said to no one in particular.  
“Bethana,” Uka snapped, “do you want her to die because you obstructed the effort to save her?”  
Bethana was silent, but clearly horrified at the notion.  
“Good, then get out of Tel's way. I need you to do something for me Bethana. I need you to gather clean linens for bandages, needle and thread for sutures, the strongest liquor you can find to sterilise the wounds, and collect the items on this list of herbs,” Uka said in her usual iron tone as she produced a piece of parchment from her hat.  
Bethana, clinging to the one piece of certainty in this situation that was Uka's orders, took the list and after a hurried read nodded to the witch before stealing a look at Ameiko and running to collect the supplies.

“Put her on the table,” Uka ordered Tel.  
He didn't question her out of a mixture of respect for her abilities and the subtle effect of her choice of tone. Tel walked in with his grim burden and was pleased to feel Hearth at his back as he went, the dragon only stopping when his shoulders hit the doorframe. As gently as he could he put Ameiko on the table and stepped back, giving Uka room to assess her patient. He watched Uka work and tried to put together his own inventory of her injuries but she was that covered in blood and her clothes were that torn that it was impossible, for him anyway, to tell what was a superficial graze and what might a serious wound.  
“Tel, you're wounded too but Ameiko is the more urgent case. Take your shirt off, it's ruined anyway, and fetch a bowl of water, then give me both. I'll need them to clean Ameiko up and get a better look at what we’re dealing with here,” Uka suddenly ordered.  
Tel did as he was asked, but as soon as he'd handed over the shirt and the water another order followed.  
“Get a knife,” Uka said, putting the water and shirt on the table next to Ameiko and holding out her hand.  
Tel obeyed again and passed her a knife which she used to unceremoniously hack off Ameiko's clothes. Tel quickly averted his gaze and went as red as a tomato.

“Don't be ridiculous Tel!” Uka snapped, “you're so brutally pragmatic about everything else, and this is what averts your gaze and flushes your face?”  
Tel didn't know what to say, or quite why he let Uka scold him, but in the heat of the moment he slowly returned his attention to the task at hand, taking great care not to look at anything improper. He held the bowl of water for Uka and followed her as she moved around Ameiko, cleaning the blood and grime away with his shirt as she went, pausing only to wet the shirt occasionally in the bowl. Finding looking at Ameiko uncomfortable for a tangled variety of reasons Tel looked at Uka as she worked and was concerned to note that her face was growing grimmer as she uncovered more of the picture. He looked to Hearth who was watching intently from just out of Uka's path and soaked in his friends easy calm. Out of the corner of his eye he swore he saw Uka grimace and he felt like he should say something.

“You ok?” he asked bluntly.  
Uka looked at him with pained eyes, then looked to make sure they were alone.  
“No Tel, I'm not. I'm not sure I can save her,” said Uka, desperation creeping into her voice.  
“I thought you said she'd be ok?” Tel replied.  
“Of course I did. What was I supposed to say? That she was doomed? No. Hope keeps people focussed, focussed people are useful, useful people solve problems,” she said with conviction, not looking up from her work.  
“Ok,” was all Tel replied.  
He watched Uka wet the blood soaked shirt again.

“You spend a lot of time and energy shielding people, whether it be from danger or harsh truths, don't you?” Tel asked.  
“Someone has to,” Uka answered.  
“Not really,” Tel pointed out.  
“You're right Tel. I don't have to, really, but I choose to do it. Because if I don't do it it might not get done. And before you ask, it does matter that these people are protected; they're a part of my community,” Uka said, finally looking up for a moment.  
Tel felt his beliefs being challenged and so quickly diverted the focus.  
“What are her odds?” he asked, nodding to Ameiko.  
“Long,” Uka replied sternly.  
Tel looked at Uka and had to admire her strength. She gave everything to those around her and still found enough within to keep herself together. He was reminded about what Ameiko had said of the witch, that when the chips were really down people went to no one but Uka. He could see why. Her admission that she was feeling the strain didn't diminish her to Tel, it only made him appreciate her more- she hadn't detached and broken like he had, she'd kept all her kindness. 

“Well, I'm, ah, sure her odds are much better because of you,” Tel tried, “you're incredibly good.”  
It sounded weak and idiotic to his survivor mind when he said it, but the part of himself that he was desperately trying to cultivate approved wholeheartedly. To his horror Uka stopped and looked at him.  
“What?” he asked.  
“Thanks Tel,” Uka replied with a small smile.

A moment later Bethana returned with the items Uka had requested, bar the herbs. She put them on the bench and moved over to investigate.  
“How's she doing?” she asked Uka.  
Uka looked Tel in the eye momentarily before turning to Bethana to reply.  
“She's doing well, but she’ll need the poultice I intend to make from those herbs,” she said.  
“I'll get them, don't you worry,” Bethana said shakily, before turning back to Ameiko, “hang in there you. You promised to cook my birthday present.”  
With that Bethana dragged her eyes from her unconscious friend and made haste out the front door of the inn.  
“I have that healing gunk you gave me, if that'd help,” Tel offered.  
“That's for recovery. She'll die long before she needs that,” Uka said as she finished wiping Ameiko down.

Uka made a quick plan in her head to tackle the various injuries Ameiko had sustained. She had bruises on her chest severe enough to indicate broken ribs, there was worrying amounts of bruising and swelling in her abdomen that indicated likely internal bleeding, numerous cuts and scrapes, but her biggest concern was the small mound just next to her belly button. She reached out and poked it gently with her finger and her fears were confirmed.  
“Tel, she has an arrow buried in her gut,” Uka stated flatly.  
Tel knew that was a death sentence. He was only surprised he hadn't smelled it yet. He realised now that Ameiko's impending death did bother him, even if only a little and only because he tried. He couldn't help but feel conflicted on the topic. If he'd tried to care sooner maybe he would have gotten more out of this, on the other hand the discomfort was solely due to the fact he'd chosen to give a shit. But that was the essence of what he had to do to get better, he knew he had to live for the positives and not the avoidance of the negatives. He wondered grimly at the fact she'd never live free of the devil on her back she'd alluded to in the woods and how that might apply to him if project Sandpoint failed. Then he saw the cogs turning behind Uka's eyes and found that most dangerous of things; hope.

“You have a plan?” he asked.  
Allowing himself to hope, embracing the positive and rejecting the cowards path of avoidance, he soldiered on with the project.  
“I do. Throw that water out, and fill the bowl with the thickest saliva Hearth can muster. As soon as you've done that I'm going to need Hearth to heat up every knife in this kitchen,” she said, determination back in her voice.  
Tel immediately moved to obey, finding himself eager to grasp at the dangling possibility of Ameiko's survival. He tipped out the water where he stood and jogged the two steps to Hearth. He didn't even need to voice his request as Hearth opened his mouth obligingly and Tel reached in to the back of the toothy maw to scoop out the thick saliva that oozed from the hinges of Hearths jaw. While transferring the first handful of the strange smelling goo into the bowl Tel gave Hearth a warm smile and a silent thanks passed between them in a glance. Hearth moved the muscles in his cheeks and produced more of the viscous fluid for Tel to scoop out of his mouth and soon the bowl was full. He put it on the table next to Uka while she poked and prodded at the arrow in Ameiko's gut and began to gather anything metal he could find.

“Good. Tel, this is the stuff that prevents infection?” Uka asked and pointed at the bowl of saliva.  
“I think so, I've never had a wound he's licked get infected,” Tel replied from the cutlery draw.  
“Let's hope so, she's going to need all the help she can get,” she said.  
Tel was pretty sure Uka intended to cauterise the wound and so picked out a heavy iron ladle with a thick iron handle. He wrapped a pair of cloths around the scoop and laid it in the fire pit so that the handle sat among the coals. Not needing to be told, as Hearth seemed to understand what they were doing, blew a gentle stream of fire onto the handle.   
“Excellent, now we're going to need to be quick. We can't push it through so I'll pull the wound open with my hair, remove the arrowhead, and then you'll need to cauterise the wound. When I say so, pull the hot iron out, I'll tip in the dragon spit and use the last of my magic on a healing spell,” Uka said.  
Tel had to admit he was sceptical of the plan, and really saw no point in cauterising the wound if they were going to pour dragon saliva into it anyway, but he trusted Uka and so picked up his glowing ladle by the cloth and moved over to her side.

Uka sent tendrils of hair snaking into the wound and Tel really hoped no one walked in on this happening. She seemed to be looking for something, judging from the concentration on her face, and manoeuvred her hair this way and that inside the wound. Satisfied with her work Uka grasped the broken shaft of the arrowhead with her fingers and looked to Tel.  
“Ready?” she asked without looking up.  
“Yeah,” Tel replied and moved the glowing ladle handle in close to the wound.  
All of a sudden Uka's hair had pulled the wound open and a sickening stench rushed from the arrow-hole in Ameiko's belly. Uka didn't flinch and pulled the arrowhead out the instant it was no longer trapped in its fleshy prison, before moving back to let Tel do his job. He put the hot iron into the open wound as gently as he could, not wanting to cause any further damage, and the sizzle of boiling blood and the reek of burning hair mingled with the smell of faeces permeating the room.  
“Enough,” said Uka sharply.  
Tel quickly withdrew the iron and noted it was crusted with cooked bits of Ameiko's insides as it came out. Uka however was not distracted by the grisly realities of what they were doing and was already pouring the phlegmy saliva into the wound. As soon as the bowl was empty she threw it on the ground, withdrew the singed tendrils of hair and began to chant a healing spell. As the magic neared its casting she held the wound closed and let the healing energy flow from her hands into the beleaguered body beneath them.

Tel watched the flesh twist and writhe as it sewed itself back together and then looked up to Uka. She looked more tired than Tel could remember her ever having been in the past, but as soon as she noticed him looking Uka straightened herself up and put on a serious expression.  
“We’ll need to move her to her bed to recover, but gently, so I'll carry her with my hair and you will open the door and throw back her covers,” she commanded.  
Tel just nodded and threw the ladle into an iron pot as he moved to open the door. They made their way into Ameiko's bedroom with her being carried on a stretcher of hair and got her tucked into her bed. Tel looked at her pale face poking out from under the covers and wondered if she'd recover, if she'd ever tell another joke, or if she was going to die despite their efforts. His face must've betrayed his thoughts when he heard Uka from his side.  
“Well, we've given her a chance, albeit a slim one, so it's up to her now,” she said.  
“I hope she doesn't die,” said Tel, taking a wild leap of faith and saying what he thought that feeling was.  
“So do I,” Uka replied, deflated, “now let's get that gash on your ribs sorted.”

Tel felt bad asking any more of Uka after her efforts this morning but the wound did need to be seen to.  
“I'll head to the priest, old man has got to be useful for something, right?” he said.  
Uka just looked at him and he realised he'd need to make an excuse for her.   
“You'd, ahh, better stay with Ameiko. Keep an eye on her and bandage those smaller wounds when she wakes up. You know?” he tried.  
“Yes, well, that might be for the best,” Uka conceded eventually.  
“It's only minor after all, he should do ok,” Tel continued, pointing to his gashed ribs.  
“Ok. I'll stay here and watch Ameiko, you go and get Zantus to fix you up, and then we’ll meet back here,” Uka said, using the very last ounce of her strength to bring the emphatic tone back to her voice.  
Tel just nodded his agreement and left, closing the bedroom door behind him, before heading over to where Hearth was waiting in the back doorway. They moved out into the courtyard and mounted up once Hearth had licked Tel's injury to his satisfaction.  
“Alright Hearth,” said Tel once they were on their way, “time to get those arrows-that-don't-hurt-at-all removed and have the priest look over our injuries. But, really, despite all the excitement this morning I think progress has been made, and that means today has been a good day.”  
Hearth warbled happily in agreement and they headed off towards the cathedral on the hill.

####

Thirty minutes later they were turning the corner back into the inns courtyard, with Tel sporting a brand new, and fantastically itchy, scab and Hearth missing his arrows. He grabbed a handful of the shirt Zantus had given him over the scab in lieu of scratching and grimaced.  
“You'd think with how long he took about it he'd have done a better job,” Tel griped to Hearth.  
Hearth rooed sympathetically.  
“All that chanting and it did less than Uka's usual quick fix. I can see why she doesn't think much of him. Still, healing is healing I suppose and beggars can't be choosers,” he said, playfully rubbing Hearths head.  
Today had indeed been a good day, he'd managed to get into a fight without a torrent of self doubt and he'd done some caring and community-ing, and the sense of accomplishment had put him in a good mood. He dropped to the ground once they’d arrived at the back door and he quietly opened it as he suspected that Uka would be asleep and didn't want to wake her up. He slipped into the kitchen and noticed that Bethana had clearly been by at some point, as there was a pile of herbs on the end of the table, then made his way to the bedroom door and stopped. He put his ear to the timber and listened and heard the almost-snoring of someone who was in dire need of sleep. He cracked the door open to confirm his suspicions and was happy to see Uka asleep in her chair and Ameiko's chest rising and falling steadily.

He heard a clatter from the common room and poked his head out to investigate. He realised that the Rusty Dragon still had guests that were staying and that Bethana was taking care of things in Ameiko's absence. Seeing nothing of interest in the people sitting here, and not wishing to have a conversation with Bethana, Tel quietly slipped back out into the courtyard. Hearth wandered over from his inspection of one of the disused horse stalls for a pat from Tel.   
“She's asleep, like I thought, which means the day is ours,” said Tel as he rubbed Hearths nose.  
Before he could think of anything for them to get up to a watchman’s bell began to ring, a desperate note in its frenzied dinging.  
“Apparently the guards have finally found the glassworks drama,” Tel said with a smirk and a snort.  
Hearth croaked along.  
“I don't really want to have that conversation with them to be honest,” Tel said, “how about we get you breakfast instead?”  
Hearth warbled happily at the suggestion and lowered his head for Tel to climb aboard. They took their usual route down to the docks and were largely ignored by the townsfolk, who were too busy speculating about the meaning of the bell, when they took to the air and headed inland towards the cattle farms.

The sensation of flight and the wind whipping his face buoyed Tel's already good mood and now that he was alone with Hearth he let a massive smile spread a cross his face. His exuberance was contagious and he felt Hearths muscles bunch and move beneath him, which was all the warning he got of the barrel roll Hearth pulled. Tel could read Hearth well however and it was all the warning he needed. He crouched low, held Hearths horns tightly, and let himself enjoy the roll through the air that sent the horizon dancing. They straightened out only momentarily before Hearth threw them both into another bout of aerobatics and they danced across the sky the whole way to the farm. They dive-bombed payment onto the farmer, who had by now gotten used to the sight of a dragon flying towards him, and set about finding his herds. They took two beasts and Hearth hauled the carcasses through the air to the bank of a small brook to eat, tearing the cows into gory chunks and swallowing them whole while Tel sat and dangled his feet in the water.

While watching the water as it flowed around his legs Tel was dragged from his reverie by his belly rumbling. He looked over to Hearth, who had clearly heard it too, and saw that he was looking back. They made eye contact and Hearth laughed his croaking laugh.  
“Can I steal a bit of your food?” Tel asked, as he pushed himself to his feet.  
Hearth gave him an incredulous look.  
“What?” he replied with a smile.  
Hearth rolled his eyes, tore a leg off one of the cows and tossed it to Tel.  
“Thanks my friend, I know I don't have ask, but after how tight food was for a while back there… I don't know, it'd feel wrong to just take it,” he said.  
Hearth warbled and nodded, then fixed Tel with a serious gaze. Tel smiled, but Hearth seemed dissatisfied with the response and got up from where he was feeding to move over to nuzzle Tel; who didn't have the heart to rebuff the bloody snout that rested against his cheek.  
“Thanks Hearth,” Tel said, holding Hearths gory jaw.  
Hearth gave a soothing drone that rolled into a coo, then, satisfied that the depth of his caring had been conveyed, he went back to his food. Tel smiled and watched him go, then looked at the red mess on his hands and could imagine how his face looked. 

After washing his hands and face, while being careful not to soil his new shirt, he drew his sword, drove it into the ground to clean the bits of goblin off, and then set about carving a chunk of beef off the offered leg. Once he had what kind’ve looked like a good sized steak he tossed the rest back to Hearth and set about gathering wood for a fire. He didn't bother with kindling and just grabbed a couple of fallen branches from a nearby tree, trusting Hearth to get his fire going. He dragged them over to Hearth and set them into a fire then found himself a stone to use as a hot plate.  
“Could you, Hearth?” Tel asked, motioning to his little fire.  
Hearth nodded, but instead of his usual trick of blowing a small stream of fire he looked thoughtful for a moment before tilting his head back, making a loud horking noise, and then leaning forward over the fire and letting an incredibly thick glob of purple tinged, semi-transparent goop drop out of his mouth and onto the logs. There was the crackle that preceded Hearths fire and he blew a gentle stream of fire onto the gel which immediately burst into flames. To Tel's surprise it just kept burning.  
He looked up at Hearth, who seemed incredibly pleased with himself, and smiled.

“That's new,” he said with a laugh, looking back to the glob of gel still burning away happily amongst his logs.  
Hearth nodded.  
“Thank you my friend, if I'd known you could do that I wouldn't have bothered with the logs,” he said.  
He positioned his rock near the burning goo and once he judged it to be hot enough he poked it a little further away from the fire and threw his steak onto it. It sizzled as the flesh met the stone and soon delicious smells of cooking meat set Tel's stomach to rumbling again. Having to hold his impatience back by force of will he wondered about the burning gel to take his mind off his hunger. It was yet another thing Hearth was capable of that he didn't understand and he couldn't help but suspect that Hearth didn't fully understand his capabilities either. Which probably meant he was orphaned and so didn't get an opportunity to learn these things from his parents; still it spoke of Hearths intelligence that he could figure these things out on his own. Briefly Tel wondered at the origin of Hearth, and what had transpired in his life that had led him into his company. With a sigh he resigned himself to never really knowing.

At long last his food was cooked. He picked it up off the rock quickly and sat it on his armoured forearm to cool. When it took to long for things to happen naturally his belly demanded that he expedite the eating of food and so he resorted to blowing on it nearly to the point of hyperventilating. Once the temperature was in the edible ranges he wasted no time in tearing into the steak. It was tough and a little flavourless, with the occasional pebble surprise, and he realised how grateful he was for Ameiko and Bethana's cooking. It was yet another reminder that surviving did not necessarily involve living. He smiled to himself. A week ago he'd have thoroughly rejected the notion that food needed to be anything more than the very basic supply of nutrient, indeed he'd have rejected the idea that anything other than the essentials required to sustain life were worth having. Now, here he was, complaining about a meal that a month ago he would have considered a feast.  
“Have to say Hearth, the foods a lot better in Sandpoint than on the road,” he said to the dragon as he finished the last of his meal.  
Hearth looked at him and warbled in agreement before licking himself clean as if to emphasise the quality of his meal.

Tel finished his steak just as Hearth ran out of blood to lick off his scales and the well-fed pair exchanged a look.   
“Well, we could head back. But the guards are probably still making a nuisance of themselves, shall we wait until it quiets down a bit before we head back?” Tel asked.  
Hearth rooed and nodded, then rolled onto his back and stretched his wings out. He wriggled his head until his horns were comfortable and then, with a huff, went still. Tel walked around to Hearths head and looked down to the huge eyes tracking his movements.  
“Sounds like a plan to me,” he said and sat down in the grass where he could use Hearths neck as a backrest. Between his late night and early morning he was ready for a nap. So with the midday sun warming his front, and Hearth warming his back, Tel nodded off to sleep to the steady rhythm of a giant heartbeat.

####

Tel awoke, as he often did, to his bed fidgeting. He rolled to the side and into the grass, feeling too lazy to fight gravity as it slowly pulled him to the ground. He cracked open his eyes and saw that the sun was still high in the sky and estimated he'd slept for a couple of hours. He felt Hearth get to his feet behind him but he still couldn't be bothered moving. It wasn't until he heard Hearth drinking from the river, and so realising the he was thirsty too, that he gathered the willpower to get up. He dragged himself to his feet and waddled down to the water where Hearth was drinking deeply. Tel lay down next to Hearths front paw and, in an awesome display of laziness, lowered his head to the water to drink. The water tasted cool and fresh and went down a treat, which made the effort to get here almost worth it. With a sigh and one last mouthful he pushed himself to his feet and stretched.  
“How'd you sleep Hearth?” he asked.  
Hearth cooed contentedly.  
“Shall we get back to Sandpoint?” he continued.  
Hearth responded by lowering his head for Tel to climb aboard and in a few short moments they were airborne and winging their way back to the coast.

As Sandpoint came back into view Tel was relieved to see that the inevitable commotion seemed to be centred at the cathedral, which was at the opposite end of town to the Rusty Dragon. They flew in low from the south to avoid notice and quickly made their way to the back of the inn where Tel wasted no time in heading to the kitchen, with Hearth following, as usual, up to his shoulders. As soon as he'd entered Bethana exploded out of the common room and wrapped him in a tight hug.  
“By the gods Tel, thank you. Thank you,” she said, a quiver in her voice.  
“Err,” replied Tel, not really knowing where to go.  
Bethana released him and drew back, a teary smile on her face, to continue.  
“Uka told me what happened. Well, it was more she told the watch and I was there, but still,” she said.  
“Oh, yeah, well it was mostly Hearth,” he replied, still struggling for what to say.  
Hearth seemed far more ready to accept the thanks and huffed impatiently in Bethana's direction.  
“My undying thanks to you too, Hearth,” she said, and after a moment of indecision, ran over to hug the intruding head.

Hearing the commotion Uka emerged from Ameiko's bedroom looking significantly more rested, though still a good way off optimal.   
“Welcome back you two,” she said, and even allowed a beleaguered smile to be seen on her face.  
“What'd we miss?” Tel asked, hoping for an explanation for all the strange behaviour.  
“Ameiko will most likely recover,” Uka said flatly, bringing Bethana to the verge of tears again.  
“Hey,” came a weak voice from the bedroom.  
Tel peered over Uka's shoulder and into the gloom and saw a pale-faced, but awake, Ameiko lying in bed.  
“Ameiko, please rest,”said Uka, almost pleadingly.  
Tel had never heard that tone from Uka and realised just how much she’d bottled her feelings during the crisis.  
“Can't ignore my guests,” Ameiko replied without skipping a beat.  
“Fine. But don't move. And no hugs this time, Bethana almost finished the job last time,” Uka said grumpily, reaffirming her reputation.

Tel walked into the bedroom slowly, and he wondered to himself why he was feeling… Weird in the stomach. He realised he was actually quite happy about the fact Ameiko was recovering and that he probably cared about her life more than he realised. It was a strange experience, realising that he was happy about her survival only after the fact, and he attributed it to his attempt to care.  
“You look like you're thinking about laying an egg,” Ameiko joked.  
“Huh?” Tel replied, drawn from his introspection.  
“What's on your mind Tel?” she said, trying a more straightforward approach.  
“Oh. Ah. Well… I'm glad you're not dead,” he managed.  
Ameiko smiled at him.  
“So am I Tel, so am I.”  
It felt strangely good to verbalise his feelings, or at least what he thought he was feeling, but it was also new and a bit daunting and he had no idea what to say next. Before the pause could drag on to the point of awkward Ameiko filled the silence.

“I hear that I owe you my life,” she said.  
“What? No. It was mostly Hearth, and Uka healed you,” he replied.  
“Uka told me how you and Hearth stormed the glassworks to rescue me, are you saying she lied?” Ameiko asked, keeping her face impassive.  
“What? No. That's not what I meant,” said Tel as he tried to get himself out of Ameiko's trap.  
Ameiko smiled at his bumbling attempts and realised she enjoyed shooting this particular fish in a barrel, but she wore a more serious look for what she wanted to say next.  
“I want you to know that I'm grateful Tel, to you and to Hearth, for saving my life. I'm also so very sorry that my stupidity put you in that position and that a member of my family brought harm to Hearth,” she said.  
Hearth snorted derisively from the kitchen, betraying his thoughts on the matter, but Ameiko was more concerned with Tel's opinion of the matter than Hearths.

Tel just shrugged. He didn't really know how he felt about that, precisely, and he also didn't know how to communicate what little he did know. But Ameiko was someone he felt he could try with, and riding on his earlier successes he decided to make the attempt.  
“I don't hold it against you. Or your family. I, we, Hearth and I, we… Our lives are our own to risk and that choice was ours,” he said eventually, stumbling across the alien concept of emotional honesty.  
“Then I'm truly honoured you both made the choice to risk your lives for me,” said Ameiko softly.  
She had to fight the urge to jump out of bed and give Tel a hug. That the man who was once openly distant from everyone would now risk his life for her was a huge step in the right direction. She could also tell that this was starting to get uncomfortable for him, and that he was starting to feel vulnerable in the deeper conversation so she decided to lighten the mood.

“Looks like we’re even on the embarrassing medical nudity front now,” she said, looking to where her bare shoulder protruded from under the blanket.  
Tel went bright red, then smiled.  
“Can we never mention that again?” he asked.  
“Hah, not a chance. It's a great life experience, getting stripped naked by Uka,” Ameiko said playfully.  
“The practicalities of medicine will continue to take precedence over your prudish sensibilities, besides there's nothing lustful about bleeding to death,” Uka interjected.  
“Sure thing Uka. Oh, Tel, check this out,” she said, reaching out to her bedside table and wincing in pain as she did so, “it's the arrowhead that came out of me.”  
Tel looked at the thing and recognised it as the same design as the ones Zantus had pulled out of Hearth. 

“You going to keep it?” Tel asked, puzzled.  
“Of course. How many people can say they took an arrow to the gut and lived to show it off?” She replied.  
Tel was suddenly hit by the realisation that if it was the same arrow design, that likely meant the same archer. Which meant that her own brother had loosed an arrow into her gut. Tel cared nothing for his own family but he knew he was an anomaly on that front and he wondered what had happened between Tsuto and Ameiko to bring them to that. He also wondered what Ameiko thought about it. He knew that how she felt about the fact that he'd shot her was, really, irrelevant but he also knew that she might feel conflicted about it. Despite it not really mattering he made the conscious choice to care.  
“Sorry about what happened to your brother,” he said out of the blue and brought the lighthearted tone of the conversation crashing back to earth.  
“Yeah, so am I. But, like you two made the choice to come and save me, he made the choice to shoot me… And to murder my father…” she let the sentence hang in the air, “I'm the last of my line now I suppose.”

Uka entered the bedroom with Bethana in tow.  
“Do not allow thoughts of isolation to weigh you down Ameiko, the people in your life who care about you are still here. They're connected to you not by something as accidental as birth, but by something as meaningful as choice,” Uka said.  
Ameiko started to cry. It started slowly with watering eyes, but quickly spread to a quivering chin and a pained expression.  
“I nearly died, nearly died a fool, without realising what marvellous people I have at my side,” she said with a smile through the tears.  
Tel and Uka were both under qualified to deal properly with the situation but Bethana knew what to do. She ran to her sobbing friend and wrapped her in a gentle hug.  
“Don't be talking nonsense girl. You are a complete fool, but that's not the reason why,” she said, trying to smile through tears of her own.

Tel watched the scene unfold and saw the outpouring of emotion from Ameiko and Bethana; they said so much to each other in hugs and tears as well as words. He looked at it and realised that it was something he couldn't do. He tried to care, he tried so hard, but there was still nothing there. No empathy, no tears. Even the weird sensation in his stomach from earlier was gone. His disappointment in himself rapidly hardened to frustration, then ignited into anger. He spun on his heel and walked briskly out of the room, noticing as he went a watering of Uka's eyes which only exacerbated his mood. He walked over to his hayshed in a strange, disassociated haze, at once both coldly detached and internally incandescent. He felt as though he might explode.  
“Fuck!” He growled and punched the timber wall hard enough to set his knuckles bleeding.  
The pain only increased the rage inside, robbing the punch of its promised release, and in his addled state he punched the wall again. The result was identical and what was intended to be a release only brought more. He spun towards the stool in the corner and kicked it. It flew up against the wall but it failed to break the way he needed it to. He kicked it again, growling as he did so, but it still wouldn't break. In a fit he reached down to pick it up, seeking to tear it apart in lieu of himself. With hands numbed by anger he fumbled about seeking a grip that would let him exert strength enough to break it.

He growled out a torrent of profanities as he strained against the stool, desperate to release the fire in his heart. He didn't even have a clear vision of what he was angry about any more and in his blind rage he swung the stool into a sturdy timber column. It finally gave up its fight and flew apart on impact. It was as angry as the man who broke it however and a piece of its timber flew from the wall and struck Tel in the face. Reflexively he clutched at the wound and felt the warmth of his own blood on his fingers. He moved his hand slightly and felt the knotted skin of the brand on his cheek. He felt anger at what had been done to him join his anger at how it had changed him and his mind boiled over. He spat out a tirade of rage fuelled gibberish as his reeling mind sought a target for the energy inside him. Then he heard the back door of the inn close. He whirled to face the noise and saw Uka standing there with a serious expression.  
“Don't you fucking look at me like that!” he yelled.

Suddenly there was an impact from his left and the world was horizontal. It was also warm, dark, and gently squeezing him into itself. He struggled against the embrace, he kicked and fought for his life as the smell of blood rushed up his nose and the feeling of sand scratched at his skin. He could hear the roar of the crowd in his ears and knew they cheered for the burly man that had borne him to the ground. They cheered for his death on these hellish sands but he wanted so badly to live. He knew his life and his wants meant nothing to them and so he fought with all his strength. He fought to see Hearth one more time, he fought for the chance of escape, he fought for his right to exist, he fought simply for his next breath. 

There was a knock to his head severe enough to set his mind wobbling and he felt a fear powerful enough to churn his stomach and empty his bladder. He was stunned, he knew it, and that meant the killing blow could be only moments away. There was a blinding light, but no additional pain, and he blinked. As he did so he saw not the bloody sands of the arena, but the cobbles of Sandpoint and Hearths scaled leg. He felt the cool of the stone through his clothes and the warm and damp where he'd pissed himself. Thoroughly disoriented he tried to pull an elbow under himself to prop himself up but found it was too slick to stay secure. He turned to inspect the problem and noted it was covered in a dark fluid. His eyes traced its source to the sword sticking out from Hearths foreleg and as the realisation that it was his blade hit him he heaved the contents of his stomach over himself in shock. He felt movement at his back and in a mortified haze watched from far away as Hearths face came into view wearing an expression of deepest worry.

A cautiously optimistic warble filled the space between them as Hearth hoped he'd gotten his friend back. Tel saw the concern and love in the dragons eye and felt utterly unworthy and more broken than ever. Hearth could read his mind it seemed and the worried expression fell into one of profound sadness, making Tel feel only more wretched. He scrambled forward and pushed himself to his feet as he went, then he just started running. He had to get away, Hearth deserved better than him, and as he ran something happened that badly needed to happen. Tel started to cry.

Uka watched the blood, urine, and vomit covered Tel wriggle out from under Hearth and make a run for it, tears pouring down his cheeks, and she realised she didn't know what to do. Should she leave him be and give him what was probably some much needed space? Or would that space lead to his undoing? Hearth, it seemed, was struck by no such indecision. He let out a roar loud enough to sound like thunder, it's rolling wave almost concussive in its volume, before springing off after Tel. Hearth easily caught up to the fleeing man just as he made the lane at the back of the inn, and he snatched Tel to his chest with one foreleg while the other pulled him up the side of the building opposite. Between pulling himself up the wall and pushing off the ground with his powerful hind legs Hearth made an almost 90 degree turn vertically without slowing down, sending a shower of broken timber to the ground. As soon as he was on the rooftops he opened his wings and with a downstroke and a shingle-scattering leap they were airborne. Uka sighed as she watched them gain altitude into the afternoon sky, then bank sharply to the south and disappear from sight. She turned her attention to the sorry state of the building across the lane, quickly concluding that smoothing the situation over immediately would be for the best she sent a mental call to Ula to find Tel and Hearth before reaching into her hat and producing her purse. She had more than enough money to make this carpentry problem go away; it was the other one she was worried about.

Tel looked down and watched the ground scroll by as they made their way over the tree tops, the shapes below reduced to coloured smudges by the tears in his eyes. He felt wretched. He'd relived one of his most painful memories, he was absolutely filthy, and worst of all he'd stabbed Hearth in his madness. How could he do such a thing, he wondered as they flew. He hadn't meant to stab Hearth, but that didn't change the fact that he had, and the guilt was all consuming. He would've completely understood if Hearth had struck him down right there and then, or at very least flown off never to be seen again, but the fact that he was nothing but concerned and had snatched him away as he'd tried to flee his crime only made the guilt worse. He felt his friends rhythmic heartbeat at his back and the gentle pressure from the foreleg that held him close to Hearths chest and he drew a complete mental blank. He was so utterly out of his depth emotionally.

Hearth landed in their little clearing, pulled the blade from his leg with his teeth and, instead of putting Tel down, gently laid on top of him and pinned him to the ground. He then walked his hind legs around to wrap Tel in a swaddle of scales. He craned his neck to nuzzle Tel in tightly and then simply stopped moving. Tel for his part didn't struggle against his imprisonment physically, though his mind raved about his failures and undeserved loyalty. The fire in Tel's mind was slowly soothed by Hearths warm embrace however and after a time he came back to his senses, though he still felt terrible about injuring his friend.  
“Thank you, Hearth,” he said at last, “thank you for getting me. I'm so sorry.”  
Hearth warbled happily in reply and opened the draconic cocoon to fix Tel with an elated gaze.   
“What did I do to deserve you?” he asked as he rubbed Hearths cheek.  
Hearth just looked relieved and overjoyed in equal measure, before giving a questioning coo.  
“I'm ok my friend, my mind is back here where it belongs. I'm sorry if I worried you,” he said, realising Hearth was far more concerned about his state of mind than the injury he'd inflicted.

His usual torrent of negative thoughts began its habitual assault but its momentum was broken by Uka's words: Hearth could make his own choices, possessed his own agency and had his own views on the things that were important. Tel would honour his friends choice and all he could do to respect it was to move forward in the direction Hearth wished.  
“I'm so sorry Hearth, I… Lost myself to the past in my anger,” he said as he pulled himself to his feet.  
As soon as he was standing Hearth pulled him to his chest with his chin. Tel returned the hug and the pair stood for a good long while, one glad to have his friend as an antidote to his demons, the other glad to have his friend back.

When at last they broke the embrace Tel looked down to his soiled clothes.  
“This set didn't last long, did it?” he joked weakly, keen to avoid wallowing as it wasn't what Hearth would want.  
Hearth gave him an affectionate nudge in recognition of his efforts, then lowered his head for Tel to climb aboard. Tel quickly retrieved his sword, stoically endured the stabbing guilt as he wiped Hearths blood from the blade, and swung his leg over the waiting neck. As soon as he was holding on Hearth bounded into the air and sent them winging towards a small creek for Tel to wash his clothes. As he did his laundry Tel found he had to fight a lot of negative thoughts; from shame at having wet himself in front of Uka, to fear of another flashback and the damage he might cause in its throes. While his usual demons were beaten back with a resolution to respect Hearths choices he found these new trains of thought significantly harder to derail. Still, he did his best to push them from his mind and soon they were on their way back to Sandpoint.

Tel felt the chill of the wind as it blew across his damp clothing and shivered at its touch, he lowered himself to the warmth of Hearth to ward it away and watched Sandpoint come back into view. It was with some hesitation that they made their approach, hesitation not present since they had been accepted by the small community. Only two hours ago he'd been in such a rage-fuelled delirium that he'd stabbed Hearth; and he hated himself for it. Coupled with what he was sure was going to be a serious drop in his standing with Uka he seriously considered asking Hearth to just keep flying, but they'd come so far it seemed like a waste. Besides, asking Hearth to forgive him for the stabbing and then abandoning their project was totally out of the question. So he mustered his social detachment and reminded himself that he didn't care about these people anyway.

Hearth picked up on his trepidation and cooed reassuringly as they came in to land behind the docks, and Tel avoided the gazes of the townsfolk as they made their way to the inn. He was dreading the coming conversation with Uka and found the strength to approach it only in his support of Hearth. The fact that he'd have the conversation didn't actually mean he had any idea what he'd say however. When they reached the courtyard Tel was pleased to note it was lacking anyone to have a conversation with and was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when the back door flew open in an explosion of hair.  
“Oh thank the fates you came back!” Uka said said upon seeing them.  
Tel just looked at the top of Hearths head. Uka, choosing to ignore his discomfort, continued in the hopes that he'd see nothing had changed between them. She understood full well what a pain mental afflictions could be and she had no mind to berate Tel for the symptoms of his.   
“Tel, we need to talk, urgently and in private, about a development from this morning,” she said.

Tel was taken rather by surprise by the fact that absolutely nothing appeared to have changed. Briefly he entertained the notion that she hadn’t noticed, but dismissed the thought as ridiculous. Really though, now that he was looking at her, he realised that Uka's lack of reaction probably wasn't so surprising after all as over the past days he'd come to know her as pragmatic and unfazed by the bumps in life. Still feeling the bite of his own prediction, not Uka's actions, he hesitantly nodded.  
“Excellent. Then let us retire to your shed,” she said and held out her hand to indicate they could go first.  
Tel paused, then dismounted, and after a reassuring look into Hearths eye, led them all into the shed. 

As soon as they were all squashed in Uka wasted no time in outlining her agenda.  
“Tel when we rescued Ameiko this morning I recovered a journal from the room she was being held in. Judging by its contents I'd say it belonged to Ameiko's brother, Tsuto, and it contains a variety of plans for an eventual assault on Sandpoint,” she said, producing the book in question from her hat.  
Tel eyeballed the hat for a moment and attributed its impressive capacity to magic before taking the offered journal and flipping it open. He immediately pulled an incredulous smile, his earlier reservations destroyed by the unexpected contents of the page he'd opened.  
“It seems to be more of a plan of attack on a woman's body,” he said, struggling to stifle a laugh in spite of his earlier mood.  
“Some of the drawings are rather off topic and explicit, yes, but if you turn the page,” Uka said impatiently.  
Tel turned the page to reveal another lewd sketch and his smile widened.

Uka hid her satisfaction at how the meeting was panning out behind a veneer of impatience with the immaturity of Tel. She had been genuinely worried that Tel might not come back at all, and she was aware that even if he did come back he would likely be on the back foot and leave anyway. She couldn't have that, obviously, and so she'd decided to give him something that would appeal to his sense of humour and, more importantly, a task. She'd had an opportunity to just watch the pair fight that morning and although Tel showed more of a willingness to participate than usual she also noticed that Hearth seemed to love it. She could use that. She knew Hearth wanted Tel in Sandpoint, and she knew he liked a fight. So she put a smile on Tel's face and a target in front of Hearth, and here they were.

“Once you manage to draw yourself away from the fantasies of Ameiko's late brother we can get to the important information,” Uka huffed, “first and foremost is that the assault will come from the north. But while the wall is besieged they planned to attack from within, via an old smugglers tunnel that comes out in the glassworks.”  
“Ok,” said Tel, his face falling as he remembered himself.  
“I should think it's rather far from OK actually, see the tunnel is apparently guarded by a demonic witch with whom they have formed an alliance. Now, I suggest that we investigate this tunnel and this witch, destroying them if needs be,” she continued.  
“Who the fuck is ‘we’?” Tel asked, looking up from the book, “Tsuto is dead. No one is going to be leading an attack.”  
“Tel, Tsuto is not the one behind this,” Uka said.  
“Huh, weird. Thought for sure it'd be the guy with the goblins,” Tel said with a shrug.  
“He was only a lackey himself. I believe the one in charge is the woman depicted so explicitly in that journal. If you read it Tsuto is clearly besotted with her and she is definitely the one calling the shots,” Uka explained.

“So who is this woman? And why would she be out to get Sandpoint? Not as though the place is covered in gold or anything,” Tel said waving his arm towards the dirt lane at the back of the courtyard.  
“Remember when I told you about the fire that consumed the old cathedral and was thought to have killed Tobyn and his daughter? His daughter, Nualia, seems to have survived the blaze and may even have been the one to set it,” Uka said quietly and with a quick glance about.  
“So?”  
“From what's in this journal it appears they intend not to loot Sandpoint, but to turn it into a burnt offering to the demon mother of monsters. I believe that the old cathedral may have been Nualia’s first burnt sacrifice, and that the theft of Tobyn’s remains was by her hand,” Uka continued.  
She looked from Tel to Hearth to try to gauge the situation and noted that Tel’s face shifted between expressionless and awkwardness. She attributed it to his shame about earlier, but was heartened to see it was only intermittent. She was further heartened by Hearths expression of excitement. He was clearly following the discussion in his own rudimentary fashion and seemed excited about the prospect of another adventure, but he kept looking to Tel and Uka saw that he was not going to drag Tel into danger he didn't wish to get involved in.

“She sounds like a nut case,” Tel said, “clearly Tsuto didn't follow the advice not to stick his dick in crazy. Apparently it's contagious.”  
“I think Tsuto might have been an easy mark for Nualia, she was incredibly beautiful after all,” Uka said.  
Tel didn't really care about Tsuto or Nualia, but he didn't want to see project Sandpoint cut short by the crazed rambling of some mentally deficient demon cultist. He thought back to the morning and his resolution to live his life and then to his flashback after lunch. He decided to spite the setback he'd suffered and join Uka in whatever course of action she felt best, assuming it wasn't suicide of course, as he knew he had to keep at this if he wanted to get better. He looked back up at Hearth, but he had a fair idea of what he was going to see written on his friends face, and so he was unsurprised when he met the gaze of eager eyes.  
“So,” Tel said, looking back to Uka, “what's the plan?”

Uka jumped for joy, or she would have if she didn't have quite such an iron grip on her self control, at hearing Tel say that. Tel on board meant Hearth on board. She congratulated herself on her masterful guidance of the situation. She'd managed to get Tel, through careful placement of pep-talks, incentives and pleasurable diversions, to this point which not only was of great benefit to Sandpoint but also to himself. She wondered how she might have dealt with the situation differently had this invasion not been hanging over their heads. Tel had always been in need of help, she was sure that was why Hearth had been so keen for them to join the community, and she would have helped him regardless. But she had to wonder if she'd sacrificed Tel's help for Sandpoints help. She knew she balanced them to the best possible outcome for both parties, but her pragmatic streak lead her to prioritise keeping everyone alive as a minimum and she was more than willing to skirt a few grey areas to do that. Still, she smiled internally; who's to say we can't have both?

“The plan is to investigate this tunnel while we wait for Shalelu. If she is not back by the time we are we will have to assume that she was captured or killed and mount an assault on the goblins without her information,” Uka said, outlining the steps with chops of her hand.  
“What? Attack the goblins?” Tel replied with a cocked eyebrow.  
“Well, not the goblins, no, but their leaders. Shalelu said that without unifying leadership they'd revert to fractured tribes happiest fighting each other and that she suspected that their leadership was at Thistletop. Obviously ‘attack Thistletop’ is a little vague for a plan, hence my preference for waiting for Shalelu to return before we make a move, but we can't wait here to be overrun,” Uka said.  
“Yeah, ok, that makes sense,” said Tel after thinking it over.  
“I'm glad we agree. Now, our next move should be on this smugglers tunnel. It's bricked up and in the basement of the glassworks, but I'm not sure it's going to be big enough for Hearth. This leaves us with two options, we either leave him behind or we hope he's not claustrophobic,” she said, knowing full well which Tel would choose.  
“We're not leaving him behind,” Tel said with a dangerous edge in his voice, “we go together or not at all.”

Tel turned to Hearth.  
“What do you think my friend? Are you happy to head into the tunnel?” he asked, his expression making it clear Hearth was free to choose without pressure one way or another.  
Hearth simply looked at him as though the answer was obvious.  
“Of course,” Tel said with a defeated smile.  
“Then it's decided. I've a few things to get ready before we set out for the tunnel, and while I prepare, Tel, Ameiko wanted to see you,” Uka said, pushing herself to her feet.  
“About?” Tel asked.  
He really wasn't sure he wanted to talk to anyone at the moment.  
“She didn't say, but I doubt it's anything serious, knowing Ameiko,” Uka replied, as she headed back towards the inn.  
Tel watched her go from where he sat, in his comfort zone, on Hearths foreleg and tried to decide whether he could be bothered having another conversation. His mind was jolted from its deliberations by Hearth fidgeting before it could get into its usual, long winded rut.

“You want to go?” he asked.  
Hearth warbled happily, and it lifted Tel's mood dramatically.  
“Alright then,” he said, halfheartedly fighting a smile, “but this was your idea.”  
Hearth whuffled dismissively as Tel got to his feet and the pair headed to the inn. When they opened the door Uka was already gone and Bethana was in the common room, which left Tel with no excuse. He knocked gently on Ameiko's door and waited, hoping there wouldn't be a reply.  
“Come in Tel,” she said, pain taking the joy from her voice.  
Tel opened the door and stood in the doorway with no idea what to do next, feeling wretchedly awkward despite, in theory, not caring.  
“Good to see you,” she said, “I was hoping you were going to stay a bit longer after lunch there, but you disappeared.”  
“Yeah,” Tel said with a small nod.

“Don't stand there, have a seat,” she said, attempting a wave at the chair in the room before pain stopped her; she winced at the stabbing in her gut.  
Tel didn't know what else to do, so he sat.  
“You ok? You're no Beth, but you usually say more than this,” she remarked.  
Tel sat straight in the chair and wondered what to do with his hands while checking his mind for a resurgence of his overwhelming frustration.  
“Tel, relax. We're friends, aren't we?” Ameiko said with a smile, sensing his unease.  
Tel tried to relax, but when his mind refused to cooperate he settled for the next best thing and leaned back in the chair.  
“You gotta unclench the fists too,” Ameiko joked, her easy charisma making a return despite her injuries.  
“Yeah,” he agreed with a smile.

“Fuck me,” Ameiko sighed, leaning back onto her pillow to talk to the roof, “what a day. I almost died, but I can't get over that you and Hearth came to save me. You were always so distant, I, I don't know, I didn't think it'd be you guys who would come to bail me out.”  
“Don't mention it,” Tel said, feeling that was what you said in the situation.  
To his surprised Ameiko laughed, or tried to despite her injuries.  
“Did you read that one in a play?” she asked.  
“What? No. I,” Tel said, confused.  
“I'd expect that from a knight in shining armour,” she said, before continuing in her best, deep knight-voice, “I shall rescue you fair maiden, think nothing of it.”  
Tel smiled at Ameiko's contagious charm and something floated into his mind from a corner of himself long forgotten. He wondered at it for a moment and then decided to just say it.  
“Who said anything about fair?” he teased in a flat tone.  
Ameiko's mouth curled into the widest, most wicked grin Tel had even seen.

“Holy shit, where have you been hiding that?” she asked.  
“Hiding what?” he replied, trying to keep a smile off his own face.  
“Don't play that game with me. You're just lucky I don't have a stick handy,” she said.  
Tel felt his earlier tension melt away in Ameiko's company and now, sitting here with a smile on his face, his earlier setback seemed farther away. He let it slip into the background and instead drew on the positives, on the things he'd learned, and on project Sandpoint in general. He found, now that he was looking for it, that perhaps he had been hiding something; a person. It was hidden under numerous defence mechanisms and a traumatic past but it was there all the same and he realised that this might be his first real glimpse of what he stood to gain; the first glimpse of the gold in the rock.  
“You're right,” he conceded eventually, “I have been hiding myself away.”  
“Well, I hope you decide to change that. I'm not going to pretend to know what you've been through, but I reckon you've got a friend like no other in Hearth who can help you make that journey back to something like happiness. Everyone’s got a devil on their back Tel, but I now know it's not until you're bleeding to death that you wish you'd spent more time happy,” she said, lying back to stare at the ceiling.  
She had no idea why she was saying these things. Perhaps she was trying to repay Tel for her rescue with wisdom, or perhaps it was that she hated the thought of one of the pair dying before they'd figured their happiness out. After a moments thought more she realised it was both.

Tel looked at her and wondered what to say. The joking air was gone, leaving behind it a sense of importance and depth, and he didn't want to ruin the conversation. He played back her words in his head in hopes of getting a spark of inspiration. It brought memories of her crying in the forest after her father disowned her, and the darkness in her eyes at the mention of her adventuring career. The thought that Ameiko was unhappy seemed thoroughly alien to him and so he struggled to get a train of thought together before the silence became awkward. Desperate not to break the flow of words Tel just jumped in.  
“You are the happiest person I know,” he said at last, stating what he felt was obvious.  
“Fuck, I hope not,” Ameiko lamented.  
“I don't know, but you're witty, and friendly. You're a good cook. Your inn has a nice hayshed,” Tel said, attempting consolidation.  
To his great relief Ameiko smiled.

“That's something I'm particularly proud of, my hayshed,” she said with a grin, rolling her head to look back to Tel.  
“I didn't mean it like that.”  
“Oh, so my hayshed isn't good enough for you?”  
“What? No. I… Gods damn it Ameiko.”  
Ameiko got as close to laughter as her injuries would allow. She did enjoy occasionally shooting the Tel-fish in a barrel, particularly when he grudgingly smiled along. But, she reminded herself, Tel had managed to get her to smile first.  
“I appreciate it Tel, I really do,” she said, “but hey, I've got something more useful for you. It's to say thank you, for saving my life. You'll have to forgive me not handing it to you myself.”  
Ameiko pointed to a vest of some description on her bedside table. Tel, hesitantly at first and not knowing how to take this, advanced on the folded item. He picked it up and felt immediately that it wasn't made solely of cloth.

It had an outer coating of extremely tough fabric but, below that, he could feel plates of metal. The plates were each hexagonal and bound on top of a layer of padding, leaving it flexible but highly protective. He shifted it through his hands and noted that it was suspiciously light.  
“It's made of the silk of giant spiders, the leather is from a manticore, the padding is shed griffon feathers and the plates, those are mithril. It has been in my family for generations, but I am the last of my line and you a worthy inheritor,” Ameiko said, almost reverentially.  
“Really?”  
“Yes Tel, really,” she said, hoping he wouldn't get funny about accepting it.  
“It's really made of those things?”  
Ameiko had to stifle another laugh.  
“What?”  
“I thought you were asking if I was really giving it to you, not asking if it was actually made of those things, that's all,” she said.  
“Oh. I just respect your choice I suppose,” Tel replied with a shrug.  
“That means a lot Tel, thankyou,” Ameiko said with a deep smile.

There came a knock on the door.  
“Tel, my preparations are complete and I've no desire to delay further,” Uka said through the door.  
Tel and Ameiko exchanged a glance.  
“Put it on you fool,” Ameiko prompted.  
Tel got halfway through pulling the vest on when Uka opened the door.  
“What have you two… Oh, it's armour,” Uka said with an eyebrow rapidly rising.  
“Uka!” cried Ameiko, her exasperation cut short by pain.  
“I’m sure I don't know what you thought I was implying… but either way, are you ready Tel?”  
“Yeah, just trying to sort out the buckles,” he said with his chin to his chest.  
When Tel was finished donning his armour a moment later he gave Ameiko an awkward nod and a flash of a smile before following Uka out of the room.  
“Hey,” Ameiko called.  
Tel turned to face her.  
“Stay safe out there,” she said.  
“You too,” Tel replied without thinking, immediately realising what he’d done.  
“Bullseye,” said Ameiko with a wink.  
Tel wanted to slap himself, but settled for a smile before following Uka out of the room. 

As soon as he was back near Hearth he quickened his stride to pat his friend who sniffed at his new vest with great interest.  
“No chewing holes in this one, my friend,” Tel said, rubbing Hearths brow affectionately and hugging his face while Hearth returned the affection.  
“You've been separated by a single door, for the duration of a short conversation, in a place you both call home, and you greet each other like you've not been together for years,” Uka remarked.  
Tel and Hearth ignored her and, seeing that they seemed to need this, she let them take their time.  
“You ready to go?” she asked eventually.  
Uncertainty crept momentarily onto Tel's face, but he dispelled it with a look into Hearths eyes. He mentally reaffirmed his commitment to the project and the right they both had to choose to risk their lives. Besides, the look of excitement on Hearths face was too much to say no to.  
“Yeah, we’re ready,” Tel said.  
“Excellent, then can you ask Hearth to please move? We'll not get far with his head stuck in the doorway.”

Tel smiled at Hearth, who seemed to know he was being a pain, and the dragon moved himself back out into the courtyard. The afternoon sun was warm on their skin as the trio made their way from the Rusty Dragon to the glassworks. The journey passed without conversation and that suited Tel nicely. He was chewing over what he thought he might have been feeling at a number of times during the day and was in no mood to discuss things. He was so intent on his thoughts that he didn't notice when they arrived at their destination, let alone the journey.  
“Tel!” Uka said sternly.  
“Huh?”  
“Do pay attention Tel. Now, as I was saying, we’ll have to be careful once we're in the tunnel. As I understand it the place had been bricked up years ago, and Tsuto’s mention of a witch living in it leads me to believe the witch is not a mortal creature,” Uka said as she lead them towards the loading door.  
“Like an undead or a demon?” he asked.  
“Yes. Either is bad, but when combined with an aptitude for magic the threat is much greater. It may literally be a demonic witch,” she said as she opened the door with her hair.

Tel considered the prospect of facing Uka in a fight and didn't like his chances. He thought Hearth would be fine if it came to violence with a magic user but he wasn't so sure about himself.  
“Isn't fighting a witch a bad idea?” he asked Hearth as much as Uka.  
“Ordinarily yes, but you'll have me supporting you and if I'm honest Hearth will likely fare just fine. A lot of witches spells only work on humanoids, making him immune,” she said, gesturing to Hearth.  
Tel looked at Hearth and saw that same enthusiasm for adventure he'd seen before. He supposed it was only natural that a dragon would enjoy using its powers and if this was what Hearth wanted to do for fun Tel was committed to supporting him. They moved into the inside of the glassworks and saw that the watch had made an effort to clean the place up. The bodies were all gone, as was most of the broken equipment, but the numerous blood stains were still present. As was a rancid smell. The furnaces had been extinguished leaving the interior looking and smelling much like a gloomy morgue.

The watchmen seemed to be long gone and unopposed they moved towards their goal.  
“You'd think they'd make an effort to get rid of the blood,” Tel said, trying to keep his anxieties at bay.  
“I'd say, Tel, that the members of the watch still in town have little stomach for such work, and as all the glassworks employees are dead that only leaves the owner, who, as I understand it, is now Ameiko,” Uka said as she walked.  
Tel hated this place. The gloom and the smell of old blood and spilled innards reminded him all to vividly of the pits. But he was determined not to let it get to him, so he stayed close to Hearth for support and kept moving. Shortly they came to the doorway that lead to the old smugglers tunnel. Peering into the darkness Tel could see the tunnel was only 7 feet tall and about that wide which was going to make it a squeeze for Hearth.  
“You sure about this, my friend,” Tel asked Hearth, looking at the dragons bulk and then to the tunnel.  
Hearth gave an emphatic snort and pushed on the remains of the brickwork Tsuto and the goblins had broken down. The decaying remnants of the wall immediately yielded to Hearths strength and tumbled to the floor in a grinding avalanche.

“It might be prudent for us to decide who is going in first, as once Hearth goes in our opportunities to retreat will be minimal. Hearth won't be able to turn around, nor make swift progress backwards,” Uka said suddenly, stopping Hearth mid-way through heading down the tunnel.  
“Good point,” said Tel with a resigned tone, “I worry about this, Hearth.”  
Hearth nodded and looked back the way they'd come.  
“What, no. No. I don't want to go back. I just want to do this smart, that's all,” he said, smiling as he rubbed Hearths nose.  
Hearth rooed and then looked down the tunnel and snorted.  
“How about I go first? I can stay by your head as we make our way in?” Tel suggested to Hearth, looking to Uka for approval.  
“That seems a sound plan, but if you're going in ahead I'll give you a magical light to illuminate your way, wouldn't want to trip on the uneven floor,” Uka said.  
She was not worried at all about the floor but was instead thinking ahead to a fight.

Uka picked up a small stone from the ground with a tendril of hair and passed it into her cupped hands, she then chanted a short spell which caused the rock to glow as brightly as a torch.  
“Thanks,” said Tel when she passed it to him, turning it over in his hands.  
“You're most welcome. Now, let us be on our way, I hope to get this over with shortly,” she said, motioning for him to take the lead.  
Tel obliged and set foot into the cave. It had rough stone walls and a strangely smooth floor which spoke of a lot of effort for something like a smugglers cave, but Tel was too busy doing battle with his demons to pay too much attention. He looked back to Hearth every other step as he cautiously advanced down the winding tunnel, and every time his friend was right behind him. Hearth was clearly not having an easy time moving through the confined space, but his face wore none of his discomfort. Instead he looked eager and excited for seeing what was around the next bend. 

When they reached the bend they noticed it was a fork in the tunnel and stopped to consider their options. Uka, trapped as she was behind Hearth, couldn't see their reason for stopping.  
“Everything okay up there,” she called through the gap under Hearths belly.  
“Yeah. It's a fork in the tunne-,” was all Tel got out before Hearth started to growl.  
Tel felt fear clutch his chest and he looked back to Hearth who had his eyes narrowed and his teeth bared. The dragon wiggled forward a few feet to get his head level with Tel and eyed the right hand fork of the tunnel threateningly. Suddenly there was an explosion of movement in the gloom and a trio of humanoids rushed from around the next bend in the tunnel. As they came into the light their hideous forms betrayed their monstrous nature. They were nearly human, but their bottom jaw was bisected like some demented cross between mammal and insect while their legs had an extra joint in them like those of a dog. They were naked, revealing nothing in the way of gender, but carried wicked looking halberds.  
“What the fuck?!” cried Tel as he hurriedly drew his sword.

He felt his fear melt almost instantly with Hearth by his side. They'd been in a few fights together recently and done well, and even though the conditions here weren't ideal he trusted Hearth to have his back and he knew Hearth could count on him. The creatures clearly intended to use the reach of their weapons to their advantage in the tight confines of the tunnel, but Tel wasn't going to let them jab away at Hearths face. He saw that they had yet to lower their weapons to thrust with the points and still had them raised in the hopes of making a powerful downwards chop. Thinking as a member of the team, and not out of selfish fear, he dived forward at the trio. His plan was to get inside the reach of the blades of their weapons and disrupt the wall of points they might present if given the chance. They all tried to intercept him with a chop of their weapon once they realised what he was doing, but it was too little, too late. Apparently unable to conceive of such a move by their opponents they were all unprepared and so Tel barrelled into the middle of the three creatures,

They collided heavily and both were knocked momentarily senseless by the impact while the two on the flanks made their moves. One dropped its weapon and dove onto Tel's back, seeking to gain a numeric advantage in the coming brawl, the other tried to bring its weapon to bear on Hearth. Hearth moved as far forward as he could as quickly as he could but, unable to reach the monster, he settled for biting down on the end of the halberd. The haft offered little resistance to the powerful jaws and was sheared in half by razor sharp teeth. The weilder seemed not at all demoralised and simply leapt onto Hearths nose before he could open his mouth again. 

On the ground Tel, lying atop one monster, felt the other land on his back and felt it's hot breath on his head. It tried to bite his neck, but Ameiko's vest sported a high collar and all Tel suffered was the deeply unsettling experience of a panting, slavering monster trying to chew its way to his throat. Recovering his wits he threw his head back in between its frenzied lunges and was rewarded with his head colliding with its face. He felt its teeth pierce his scalp and a massive adrenaline rush surged through his body. He was suddenly angry, at what he had no idea, but he was incandescent with rage.   
“Ahh, yes, such delicious wrath,” the creature beneath him slurped through its strange mouth.  
Tel, far from mortified by its disgusting manner, saw an opening. He grabbed one of its weird mandibles in his armoured hand and pulled. The appendage stretched like a roast chicken wing and Tel felt, like a wing, joints lock then break in a crunching of cartilage. His rage lent him strength and he let out a roar as he redoubled his efforts and tore the piece of jaw from the creatures face. Instead of being pained by its dismemberment the thing seemed oddly satisfied by his anger.  
“Mmm, yeeeesssss,” it gurgled.

The cave echoed with a crash as Hearth threw his head against the wall in an attempt to crush his assailant, but his attempt was only partially successful as his horns prevented him from getting a good angle. Hearth tried again, this time holding his head against the wall, pinning his opponent. He rolled his head against the stone in hopes of grinding the creature to goo, or at least get his teeth into play, but it was proving annoyingly evasive. Hearth was taking numerous small scratches to his face and some were drawing blood where the creatures sharp claws found the gaps between his scales. He was unconcerned by the injuries and was too busy trying to keep an eye on Tel to feel the infectious wrath the creatures carried.

Tel was absolutely enraged that this thing should make light of his attempt to kill it. His anger boiled and he struck it with the pommel of his sword. His mind was filled with anger, making his attacks frenzied and unthinking. Like earlier in the day with the stool in the hayshed the things face refused to break the way his rage needed it to. He drew back his sword for another strike but the creature reached up from where he straddled it and grabbed his wrist. Overcome with frustration Tel bit the arm restraining his and felt his teeth sink into its flesh. It's blood tasted foul in his mouth but it would not let go. He punched its face with his free arm, his armoured gauntlet mashing its cheek, and at last it let go. It tried to defend its face with its hands but Tel stabbed down with his now-free sword and sunk the blade into its eye. Satisfaction filled him as he watched blood flow from the ruined socket and he twisted his blade to elicit a sickening crack from the creatures skull as he broke his sword free.

Before he could savour his victory he was grabbed from behind by a powerful set of arms. He tried to throw his head back again but the creature anticipated the trick and had its own head clear of his strike before he made it. It then renewed its slavering assault on his neck, trying to nuzzle its teeth inside his collar to get at the soft flesh beneath. Tel had no intention of dying to this worthless piece of shit and so wriggled his legs underneath himself and pushed to stand with all his strength. He didn't make it to standing, but he did manage to push himself over to one side. As he and the monster fell he swung his sword beneath them, holding it there for them both to fall onto. Trusting Ameiko's gift he prepared for the impact.

Hearth realised he wasn't making any progress with his current strategy and so flicked his head away from the wall. The creature was caught by surprise and was simply left behind by the sudden movement. It immediately sought to attack and rushed forward at the creature more than ten times its size. Hearth had anticipated it's reaction and surged forward aiming high. The monster saw Hearths exposed belly and dived forward claws extended, looking to spill the dragons guts. The moment it was beneath his chest Hearth tried to open his wings, his powerful pinions pushing hard against the roof of the cave, and drove himself into the tunnel floor. The monster didn't even scream as it was crushed to bone-studded mush.

Tel felt the impact in his side from the sword. It was like getting hit in the ribs by a staff, but he didn't feel a cut. The creature screamed in agony as the blade bit into its flank, but it's wail soon turned into an angry growl and it moved its hands up to claw at Tel's face. In doing so however it released Tel from the backwards bear hug and he rolled free before its claws found his skin. He quickly jumped to his feet and whirled just in time to see it do the same. Still overcome with bloodlust he charged the thing. He lead with his armoured gauntlet, hoping to draw its block and leave it vulnerable to his blade, and was pleased to see it fall for his bluff. It easily batted aside his arm and was promptly stabbed in the abdomen. Tel sawed his blade frenziedly about in its bowels, the motion spilling intestines from the wound as he cut it longer. It satisfied his anger greatly to see the thing howling and spilling entrails as it writhed in its death throes, it's bloody form breaking just like he needed it to.

Breathing heavily he stood up, limbs shaking with the rush, and searched for a new victim. There had been three he was sure and he wanted nothing more than to vent his wrath on the third. He spun around to check behind him and came face to face with Hearth. The look of concern on the dragons face and the soothing drone he produced were like a bucket of cold water. Suddenly the urge to maim and kill melted away and his limbs felt heavy while the back of his head ached. It had felt good to get angry, to let it out, but he was sure it's release was not his doing. He looked down to the red mess staining his trousers and sighed.  
“Looks like I'm going to need new pants,” he said to Hearth, keen to put his friend at ease.  
The worry drained from Hearths face at his weak joke and the dragon nuzzled his face.

“Well, you certainly made a mess of them,” came Uka's voice from his side, “feel better to get some of it out?”  
“It does actually, yeah.”  
“That's good, but anger is rarely overcome by indulging it; merely temporarily sated,” she continued.  
“Uh-huh,” said Tel, unsure of what to make of Uka's statement.  
“But a better way to deal with your anger is a problem for the future, for now let us press on,” she said.  
Hearth seemed to show interest at Uka's mention of a solution for Tel's anger and then seemed disappointed when she didn't dwell on the topic.  
“Do not worry Hearth, you have my word I shall devote my full attention to that matter when the immediate threat of the goblin invasion is passed,” Uka said assuringly.  
“What?”   
“You were lamenting being broken this morning Tel, but no-one is beyond repair; indeed your progress to date is proof of this. We've danced around the issue numerous times, but there it is,” she unapologetically stated.  
“You know what Uka?” Tel said before pausing thoughtfully, “thanks.”  
“Any time Tel. Know that I, and others, care. But this is not the time, let us resolve this matter first,” she said with an uncharacteristic smile that held a warmth Tel didn't know Uka was capable of.  
“Yeah, ok,” Tel said with a nod.  
He turned to Hearth to check that he was ready to continue and saw again a happiness that were it on a humans face would have brought tears to their eyes.  
“I'll get there Hearth,” he said, putting his hand on the dragons cheek, “for both of us.”

They walked the few feet back to the fork the monsters had attacked from and a quick investigation revealed the passage to the right to be a dead end. They continued down the left branch and the hewn stone of the smugglers tunnel abruptly gave way to the same, strangely perfect, stonework as they found beneath choppers isle.  
“Weird,” Tel said to no one in particular when he noticed.  
“It is likely that this and choppers isle were once both parts of a larger complex, long since fallen to decay. It's probably related to that ruined lighthouse you would've seen on the bluff, which makes it Thassilonian in origin,” Uka said, back to her impartial old self.  
“Great, we’re in the tunnels of an ancient empire of evil wizards,” Tel grumbled sarcastically.  
“It is unlikely anything of magic or value remains in these tunnels, given their use by smugglers, but that also means there's unlikely to be any untriggered traps,” Uka replied flatly.

The party continued on into the tunnel, now larger and easier for Hearth to move through, with the gloom being beaten back by the glowing stone Uka had given Tel. He moved forward just to the left of Hearth and kept looking back for reassurance. The rage brought on by those monsters was still fresh in his mind and he had to wonder how much more there was left buried within. After his shameful showing earlier in the day and now his near total loss of control fighting those things he thought perhaps there was more wrong with him than fear. Angry and afraid seemed like a weird combination to him as he kept moving down the tunnel, but Uka's uncomfortably frank statement of his situation was strangely reassuring. He shook his head to try to clear his thoughts, they made him want to cringe at himself, but they remained stubbornly between his ears. Thankfully the hell hole they found themselves in provided a distraction in the form of an ominous looking double door.

On it was a scene of fire engulfing an army with burning soldiers running to and fro. It's stone was the same dark colour as the rest of the complex and it shared its perfect edges. On either side was a pile of broken bricks, apparently the remains of a wall removed to reveal the door.  
“It appears the smugglers felt this place was best left undisturbed,” Uka said, her words breaking the silence.   
“That makes it Tsuto who pulled down the wall?” Tel asked.  
“I would suspect so, though it doesn't really matter at this point. We need to get in there and deal with the other witch,” she replied.  
Hearth wriggled excitedly and looked at the door at the mention of the other witch and Tel couldn't help but wonder what it was about this that had him so worked up. He reached over to pat Hearths nose and the dragon looked at him with concern then calmed immediately, making Tel feel terrible.  
“It's ok to be excited, my friend,” he said with a smile, “I'm right here by your side, not anywhere else. Now, let's go get that witch.”  
Hearths tail began wriggling with twice the energy.

Uka looked over at the pair and smiled internally. This was going swimmingly. Hearth seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, though still incredibly protective of Tel, and his high spirits seemed to be helping the man. She remembered the near paralysed wreck Tel had been on Choppers Isle and it was good to see him free of the worst of that fear. She closed her eyes momentarily and hoped with all her will that Shalelu would return tonight as she had the ingredients she needed to make an assault on Thistletop happen, namely a motivated Tel and Hearth, all she needed was some information. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see the pair opening the door. How things change, she thought to herself as she moved closer to assist.

Tel pushed on the stone door while Hearth prepared to savage anything that might come out once it was opened. The stone slid smoothly inward and when nothing rushed from the darkness to attack he opened it the rest of the way, revealing some sort of temple antechamber. The roof was a full ten feet high and the room was nearly twenty feet wide. He looked to Hearth and nodded towards the room. They moved in together and as soon as they were through the door Hearth stretched his wings as far as the walls would allow. Tel rubbed the foreleg he was standing next to in support before they pushed on further. The walls were covered in more strange carvings of mages destroying things and there were two doors leading further into the complex. One was smaller and nondescript while the other was a huge double door, magnificent in its scale and adornment.  
“Uka,” Tel whispered, “let's check the little one first?”  
Uka looked thoughtful for a moment before responding, in truth she was just taken aback by Tel being the one to press forward.  
“That makes sense,” she whispered back before joining the pair at the smaller door.

It too was stone, though lacking the intricate carvings that covered a lot of the rest of the place. Uka pushed on it with a tendril of hair while Tel and Hearth prepared to defend themselves against anything that came through. Once again nothing came to attack them and so they cautiously stepped through, followed closely by Hearths head. The room was completely bare save for a series of holes in the floor. Each was about five feet in diameter and disappeared into the darkness. Tel walked cautiously over to investigate and then, once he reached the edge of one, relaxed.  
“Huh, weird. It's a zombie in a hole,” he said with a sceptical expression on his face.  
“An astute observation,” Uka said when she joined him.  
“Some kinda storage maybe?” Tel theorised idly.  
“More likely unfortunate prisoners who have been animated by the witch. I have read about prisons like this, holes in the ground instead of barred cages, and I'd not be surprised if that's what this was,” said Uka.

“That's that,” said Tel, turning to leave when he could see no other exits to the room.  
“We should put them to rest, it doesn't do to leave the dead ill at ease,” Uka said, still looking down the hole.  
“They're not going anywhere,” said Tel with a shrug.  
“True, but after we’re done with the witch I would appreciate your assistance destroying these.”  
“Yeah, sure thing,” said Tel with a nod.  
“Excellent, you have my thanks,” Uka said politely and followed Tel out of the room.  
When they were back in the main antechamber Uka turned to Tel.  
“Tel, as the member of our group most at risk of coming to harm from the witches spells I would like to offer you a protective enchantment, though I'd understand your refusal as not everyone trusts a witch to cast spells on them,” Uka said.  
Her keen mind was already hypothesising about what Tel would say. It was true that most people didn't like to have spells cast on them, and least of all by a witch, but Tel was a pragmatic sort and she thought the offer was worth making. She knew she shouldn't really care what he said, if he refused he was the only one likely to suffer for doing so, but she wanted to be trusted by the pair. Why she wanted to be trusted she didn't quite know. Perhaps it was because they were interesting, perhaps it was because she felt bad about using them as a shield against the foes assailing Sandpoint, or perhaps it was that she secretly wanted another person in her life that didn't judge her harshly for being a witch.

“That'd be, uh, very much appreciated,” said Tel cautiously.  
He felt so strange all of a sudden. All this caring was starting to reach a crisis point. At first it had just been Ameiko giving him the armour, but he'd put that down to her assuaging her own guilt and getting to pay off any debt she felt she owed him. But then Uka had made the comment about her and others caring and it had put a different light on the giving of the armour. Now this offer of a protective spell was getting to be too much of a pattern to be easily attributed to self interest on the part of the givers. He looked to Hearth and wondered if perhaps Project Sandpoint might be yielding friends as well as mending his mind. The strange feeling in his tummy wouldn't shift, but it was a good strange he decided.

“Right, good,” Uka said and cast her spell.  
Tel felt the magic settle over him and although he had no idea what it was doing it was reassuring. Hearth sniffed at him interestedly and gave a questioning coo.  
“I'm not sure, my friend, it feels odd. There's a momentary tingle and then it sort of fades, but you still know it's there,” Tel said to Hearth.  
Uka watched the interaction and had to hold back a smile.  
“Would you like me to cast a spell on you too when we get back, Hearth?” she asked.  
Hearth immediately looked at her with great interest and warbled. Uka stole a quick glance at Tel and noticed a smile on his face too.

“We should get going, every second we delay we run the risk of the witch finding us before we find it,” Uka said sternly, keen to get them all back on task.  
“Ok,” Tel agreed with a nod and a glance to Hearth.  
“Move together,” Uka said and moved towards the large doors.  
As the trio approached a palpable feeling of anger seemed to emanate from the doors, as though rage itself were held behind them and was leaking out through the gaps. They adopted their usual door-opening positions, with Uka's hair doing the opening and Tel and Hearth on guard. Despite their size the massive doors swung inwards easily, revealing a church-like room cut into the stone. The space was mostly empty with the high vaulted ceiling giving the room a sense of grandeur far greater than its size. At the far end was a pedestal atop which sat a bowl containing water that glowed from within, shedding a ruddy light. Hovering midair before the pedestal was a diminutive figure in a meditative pose.

“Who dares disturb me?” said a voice from the direction of the meditating figure.  
The sound seemed to echo and distort as it reached the ears in a disturbing way, lending a real sense of dread to the otherwise tiny creature.  
“We do, clearly. Please desist with your vocal theatre, I've heard cheap actresses conjure more fear,” Uka said in sledgehammer tones.  
“Why you pathetic mortal! You will die an agonising death! I'll have you sodomised to red ruin with halberds for that!” the creature screamed.   
It abandoned its stance and flapped tiny wings to swoop over the pedestal, pricking its finger to send a drop of blood into the glowing water as it did so. The water foamed and bubbled and from the froth one of the strange bipedal monsters from the tunnel emerged. Despite this Tel was more amazed at Uka. She seemed entirely in control of the situation, though consciously he knew that this would be no easy fight, and was baiting the other witch into playing her hand. The hand which she intended to kill them with.

He looked to Hearth for reassurance as he always did and found the dragon already looking at him with a comforting expression. He was waiting for Tel’s go ahead and he nodded his affirmation then leapt onto Hearths foreleg like they'd practiced.  
“Go fo-” was all Tel got out before Hearth let out his thunderous roar.  
The deafening volume in the closed space set Tel's ears ringing and coupled with the sudden acceleration as Hearth leapt forward it left him momentarily disoriented. His regained his sense just in time to barrel into the newly born creature and it seemed like its time in the world would be short indeed. Hearth was on it in an instant, biting onto its head and crushing it. Before the headless corpse could hit the floor he struck again and bit the remains in half from shoulder to opposite hip. 

Having dispatched their target the pair looked around for the witch, who was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly there came an ominous slam from the door and Tel was dismayed to see them closed. It had been a trap, and now they were stuck here below ground in some sort of evil temple. As the feeling of dread and failure began to settle he saw that it was Uka who had closed the doors. She looked up to meet his panicked gaze and gave him a thumbs up.  
“We hold the balance of power in a straight fight, Tel. It is small and will rely on its flight and powers of invisibility to win, the fewer places we give it to hide the easier this will be,” she called, dropping into a watchful pose.  
“You’re certainly clever, for a mortal whore,” came a raspy voice from somewhere near the ceiling, “but you’re wrong, it’s me who will be bathing in your entrails.”

There was the sound of magic being chanted in some obscure language and a sudden flash of light indicated the completing of the evil witches spell. Tel watched in horror as the ball of dark magic flew through the air towards him and struck him in the shoulder. He felt the witches will press in on the edges of his mind, it urged him to freeze in place and eagerly await the caress of the casters dagger, but as soon as the effect tried to take hold it was repelled by the magic of Uka. He felt the tendrils that had once chewed at his thoughts being burned away by the protective spell and he smiled. He patted Hearth to let him know all was well and they moved slowly over to join Uka.  
“Amateurish attempt,” Uka said dismissively to the room.  
An exasperated growl was her response, followed closely by the sound of another spell being intoned.

This time a ray flew out of thin air, sickly green in colour, and dived towards the trio clustered at the door. In an incredibly display of speed Hearth turned and threw his wings open into the path of the ray. Tel couldn’t see what happened but he heard Hearth let out a low growl of effort and his heart leapt into his throat. The growl quickly turned into a series of croaking laughs and Tel also joined in from relief. The fight was so far, so good Tel thought as Hearth retracted his wings and he tried to pick out any disturbance in the air that might indicate that creature’s presence. While squinting at the roof he heard Uka shout.  
“There,” she called, pointing to the pedestal where another monster was pulling itself from the bloody foam.  
Hearth did not need to be told twice and he and Tel immediately bounded over to intercept the monster before it could get its bearings and pose a real threat. Like its predecessor its existence was short indeed as it was pinned to the ground by one of Hearths paws while he clawed off its legs with the other and Tel stabbed it in the face.

Before they could look up from their task however they heard a very human scream from over by the door. They whirled around, Tel almost thrown from his place on Hearth’s leg by the speed, just in time to see Uka slump to the ground with a demonic figure perched on her back.  
“Who’s laughing now, eh? Stupid slut,” it whispered sadistically to its victim.  
“Me, fool,” Uka coughed as her hair wrapped it tight.  
The demon screamed in fear as it realised its predicament.  
“Go Hearth!” yelled Tel desperately.  
Hearth was already bunching his muscles for the leap when Tel spoke but their travel through the air seemed to be painfully slow as they closed on the bleeding form of Uka. Tel found a real and unexpected terror grip his heart as he watched Uka struggle for breath on the ground.

They crashed to the ground a fraction of an inch from the prone witch and Tel dived for the bound creature which was desperately trying to cut itself free of the strangling hair. It broke free just as they landed, but Tel’s dive managed to catch some part of the wriggling mass desperately trying to get airborne. The part he’d grabbed was uncomfortably hot and its scaly skin was like an oyster bed but he held on for dear life. He knew he only needed to hold on long enough for Hearth to finish the job but where his fingers and thumb protruded from his armoured gauntlet all he could feel was pain. He could feel blood on his palm and just as he feared the thing would get free it was torn from his grasp with far more force than it could possibly have mustered. Hearth had gotten hold of it. Tel heard the distinctive sound of Hearth crushing bones with his teeth and then a swallow that marked the end of their diminutive foe.

The damage appeared to have been done though. The fight had been far from the magical duel he had been expecting and Tel looked down to the freely bleeding stab wound in Uka’s back and wondered what the hell had gone wrong. The second spawning of the monster had been a feint, and they’d fallen for it hook, line and sinker. He dropped to his knees beside Uka and felt helpless as he watched her draw gurgling breath.   
“Please don’t fucking die,” he said pleadingly, acutely aware that without her project Sandpoint would be in dire straits.  
His survivor mind butted in and reminded him that this was where caring got you, in pain and helpless, but he quashed the thought and tried to think. What would Uka do, he asked himself, and was disappointed to realise that healing magic was something he lacked. Wracking his brains while his fingers danced frustrated in the air he found that all he could pool in the way of medical knowledge was a bandage. He didn’t know exactly how to tie a bandage but he reasoned it was probably there to stop the blood getting out so he hacked a piece of cloth from Uka’s skirts and, balling it up, mashed it into the wound. He pressed it on as hard as he dared and hoped it was helping the bleeding.

Hitting on a stroke of genius he realised that he could use Uka’s corset to his advantage here. He removed his ball of cloth from her back, pulled her corset away from her skin, stuffed the cloth wad back onto the wound and let the corset hold it on for him. No knowing where the line was between bleeding to death and suffocating he settled for tightening the corset a little further and, completely out of his depth, looked to Hearth. The dragon too was wide –eyed with fear, something Tel hadn’t seen in a long time, and he realised he needed to step up to the plate or Uka was going to die.  
“We need to get her to the old priest-man,” he said urgently, “clear the way.”  
Hearth nodded and the fear fell from his face to be replaced by resolve. He barged the doors with all his might, his claws digging furrows into the stone of the ground as he strained against the door he was opening the wrong way. But Hearth was the stronger and the hinges yielded with a tortured shriek, sending the stone to the floor where it shattered.

Tel scooped Uka up and followed Hearth as he bounded across the antechamber and shot into the tunnel. Their progress was swift but their speed was payed for with numerous collisions between Hearths wings and the cave walls. Their pace was fast enough that Tel almost had to jog to keep up, but a power walk was as fast as he dared to go as he didn’t want to wobble Uka around anymore than was strictly necessary. As soon as they were up into the glassworks they both headed for the door and Hearth increased his lead over Tel to the point that Tel lost sight of him. Tel came striding out of the glassworks door into the street and looked around, but he couldn’t see his friend. It made him deeply uneasy to not know where Hearth was, especially in a moment of crisis like this, but a low roar from behind him announced that Hearth hadn’t gone far. The roar had come from above and behind him and Tel realised that Hearth must be airborne, and from the sound of it closing quickly. 

After a split second of puzzlement he realised what Hearth intended and he tightened his grip on Uka before power-walking as fast as he could away from the roar. His deduction was proved correct a moment later when he felt powerful claws latch onto his shoulders and before his next step could hit the ground he was drawn up into the air. There was sickening lurch as they gained altitude to make it over the rooftops of the town and looking down Tel could see Uka’s blank face lit by the afternoon sun and framed by the streets streaking past below his feet. Dangling from Hearth’s grip was a strange feeling and as close to actually flying himself as he’d ever come. It was an incredible sensation and had he not had someone he might one day consider a friend dying in his arms for the second time that day he might have enjoyed it.

Suddenly they were losing altitude and Tel could see that they were coming up on the cathedral. Hearth angled himself back and beat his wings hard to arrest their forward momentum while only gently losing height. Tel closed his eyes against the gusting air whipping his face but he felt the sudden shift in weight as Hearths back legs touched the ground. He opened his eyes to see the street running up to meet him as Hearth leaned forward to drop them off and he readied his legs for the impact. With the added weight of Uka and the momentum of Hearth tipping himself back onto all fours Tel landed heavily, but his vicelike grip kept Uka secure. As soon as he was clear Hearth leapt over him and tore one of the cathedrals wooden doors off its hinges with his teeth to open their way. Tel wasted no time in rushing into the cathedral and was pleased to see Zantus standing by the altar. The poor man had a look of absolute horror on his face, and Tel supposed having Hearth force entry was an intimidating prospect, but he had no time for the priest to indulge his fears.

“Zantus, get over here,” Tel yelled as he strode down the aisle.  
Zantus just started blankly back.  
“I swear on whichever god you fucking worship I will stab you if you don't save her,” he shouted as he closed the distance.  
At last Zantus seemed to gather his wits and realise what was going on. He dropped his holy book and rushed to Tel's side to assess Uka's condition. As soon as he saw the lack of colour in her face his own drained and he spun back to the altar.  
“Put her up here,” he said hurriedly, and he swept the golden accoutrements of worship onto the floor.  
Tel wasted no time complying, kicking the golden cups out of the way as he placed Uka onto the stone altar as gently as he could.   
“Where's the, ah, injury?” Zantus asked in a rush, clearly flustered by the situation.  
Tel gently rolled Uka onto her stomach and pointed to the bloody hole in the back of her corset. Zantus went to begin untying it but Tel, impatient to get the healing underway, drew his sword and cut the lacing then threw his blade to the ground and ripped it open. Without the wadded fabric pressuring the wound it began bleeding again, the crimson liquid pooling in the small of Uka's back.

“Holy shit, cast a fucking spell,” Tel yelled.  
He knew he wasn't helping calm the flustered old man, but he was getting desperate himself.  
“Right, yes, uhm,” Zantus stuttered, clearly shocked at the bleeding body.  
Tel watched as the priest gathered his wits and then took what felt like an age to chant the words of his spell. The goddess Desna was intoned numerous times and Zantus implored her to heal this injured traveller, that she might walk further down her life's road. At last a pale blue light, like that of distant stars, shone from his hands and down onto the wound where the bleeding began to slow and, finally, stop. Tel looked on with a great deal of relief and found himself wondering what on earth had come over him. He felt the most incredibly potent cocktail of emotions flowing around inside him in a veritable torrent and he was unable to make heads or tails of it. It had been a rather emotional day he realised; with each experience building on the magnitude of the one before it.

There'd been the strange feeling he'd gotten when Ameiko had been dying, there'd been the self loathing that had boiled over into rage when he realised how broken he was, there'd been the bloodlust in the cave, and now there was this. Consciously he knew he should be afraid for Uka's life, but it was also that he feared losing what he felt might be his best shot at fixing what he could of himself. Uka had a plan to get a part of him back and he knew he needed her help to make any sort of recovery, and while Uka had the plan, Ameiko had the heart. Without the pair of them he'd still be living a hollow life centred solely on seeing the next sunrise, without bothering to enjoy the time between them. He felt the unknown torrent begin to knot in his stomach as a wave of lethargy swept over him in the wake of the excitement and he wanted to be anywhere but this stuffy temple.

“Thanks,” Tel said tiredly.  
“Anytime, h-happy to be of service. Go in Desnas grace,” Zantus said, still rattled.  
Tel nodded, gently scooped up Uka and turned to the door. He was unsurprised to see Hearth only a few feet behind them as the dragon could be incredibly stealthy for a creature his size.  
“Let's get her to the inn,” he said to Hearth.  
Hearth nodded then moved to follow Tel back out the ruined door. He stepped over it uncaring of the cost. Once they were outside Tel mounted up and they rode back to the Rusty Dragon’s courtyard. As they went Tel struggled to untie the ball of emotion that refused to vacate his mind. Try as he might he had no idea what was going on in his head and the resultant feeling seemed incongruous with its component parts. He looked down at Uka and had even less an idea about what was going on.

He'd not wanted her to die, he knew that much, but then he also knew that if she had died it wouldn't really have bothered him that much. People died all the time and so long as it wasn't him or Hearth he knew he could survive the loss, the arena had definitely taught him that, so why did he struggle? Perhaps it would represent him losing, he wondered, but he'd never been particularly proud. Perhaps he didn't want to lose an important asset in project Sandpoint? While that was certainly true it was far from the whole picture. Perhaps he was just trying to care, and had manufactured these thoughts by buying his own lies. But the more he thought on it the more he came to realise that these were the first people to be a positive influence on his life since before he'd become a slave. He smiled to himself. It was an alien concept, but one he hoped to grasp in time, based on living his life for the good and not just dodging the bad.  
“You know, Hearth, despite all that's happened today, I think we made some progress,” he said to the back of Hearths head, “Today was a good day.”  
“Speak for yourself,” Uka groaned in his arms.

“Welcome back,” Tel said.  
“I take it you managed to exploit the opening I bought you?” Uka asked, a slight slur in her voice as she looked around.  
“Yeah, great tactical move, getting stabbed like that,” Tel replied, a little sore at the stress she’d caused by nearly dying.  
“A distraction requires bait, obviously,” Uka said flatly, letting her head loll and looking away.  
Tel sighed tiredly and wondered where Uka got her energy. She was nearly dead and still seemed ready to give her opinion.  
“Thank you for seeking timely medical aid for me too, you exercised passably good judgement,” Uka said, still looking away.  
Tel checked to be sure that she couldn't see him and smiled through his fatigue. It was strange to hear Uka talk like that, but not unwelcome, and he had to stifle a chuckle as he thought about what a backhanded way she’d gone about thanking him.

Luckily they arrived at the inn before things could get any weirder for Tel and he wasted no time dismounting and moving for the door, Uka in his arms.  
“Where are we going?” Uka asked when she recognised the inns courtyard.  
“The Rusty Dragon,” Tel replied.  
“I can see that. I asked only to give you a chance to maintain my approval of your judgement. Where in the inn did you plan to put me?” she asked in a scolding tone.  
“In a bed, it's got lots of beds. It's an inn,” Tel said, frustration edging his voice.  
He was tired from all this feeling and emotion-ing and just wanted to relax. The last thing he wanted to deal with was a grumpy witch.  
“Yes Tel, but I should think the inn is rather booked up at the moment,” she said.  
“I'll sort something with Ameiko,” he asked as much as said as he arrived at the door.  
He realised he'd run out of hands.  
“Uh, hello? Can someone,” he called to the door before it was opened on him mid sentence.  
There, silhouetted in the light of the kitchen, stood Shalelu and a smile slowly split her face when she saw the three of them.

Hearth warbled happily at seeing her and she waved past Tel and Uka to the dragon then beckoned them into the kitchen. Tel carried Uka in and Hearth followed up to his shoulders.  
“Hello Uka, Tel, you too Hearth,” she said as they walked, “it's so good to see you again. I understand you're the heroes of the hour.”  
Tel awkwardly looked around the room.  
“Ameiko told me all about how the three of you rescued her from goblins,” Shalelu prompted.  
“Oh, well, it was mostly, uhm,” Tel started.  
“It was a team effort made in aid of a friend, Ameiko was not going to be left to the mercies of madmen,” Uka said emphatically when she grew tired of Tel's verbal fumbling.  
“You all have my sincere thanks,” Shalelu said with a smile, “I only wish I'd been here to help.”  
“Nonsense, we were quite in control of the situation and you were doing highly valuable work for the good of Sandpoint. Now, we must- ahhh!” Uka said, ending in a pained cry as Tel shifted his grip.  
“You're heavy,” he said by way of explanation.

“Put me in a chair then,” she huffed.  
“You'd just fall out.”  
“I'd do no such thing.”  
“You can't hold up your head,” Tel said, wearily enduring Uka's stubborn nature.  
“Well I certainly can't stand.”  
“You two sound like an old married couple, put her in with me,” Ameiko called from the bedroom.  
“That will be quite impossible. My dress is rather soiled and I'll not ruin your linens,” Uka stated imperiously from her rather humble position in Tel's arms.  
“What happened?” Shalelu asked, her voice heavy with concern when she spotted the bloody state of the back of Uka's dress.  
“I was assailed in our exploration of an old smugglers tunnel the forces arrayed against us intended to use to surprise us,” Uka said.  
“Are you ok?” Ameiko asked from her spot in the bed.  
“Blood loss has temporarily sapped my vigour, but it's nothing that I shan't recover from.”  
Tel shifted his weight, drawing a less-than-dignified grunt from Uka.

“My gods Uka, Tel looks like his arms are about to fall off. Get into one of my nighties and get into bed. Then we can have a chat about what's been happening and you can all tell exciting stories where I can hear them,” Ameiko said with a broad grin.  
“I'll not impose myself,” Uka replied.  
“Uka, get in the damn nighty and rest. Besides, it'll be better recovering with company,” Ameiko insisted, and Uka was not immune to her charisma.  
“Well, if you think it would aid your recovery,” Uka conceded.  
“Yeah, that's more like it,” Ameiko said with a pained smile, “now get changed and come relax.”  
“Yes, well Tel will need to leave the room obviously,” Uka said, eying off Ameiko's wardrobe.  
Tel just turned and left. Allowing herself the luxury Uka, with the aid of Shalelu, ditched her bloody dress on the floor and slipped into one of Ameiko's nighties, then immediately put on her hat which had magically changed into a pink nightcap. Despite Uka's string of protests about propriety Tel helped carry her over to the empty side of Ameiko's bed and, with Shalelu throwing back the covers, gently put her in next to the innkeeper.

“Awesome. So, story time,” Ameiko said as soon as Uka was settled.  
Shalelu sat herself in Ameiko's comfy chair by the bed and Tel sat on the floor in the doorway where he could reach Hearths head.  
“Tel and I investigated the smugglers tunnel and found it to have been reopened by the goblins. We encountered strange bipedal monsters, which can be birthed from a magic font by a drop of blood, and a demonic witch. I am pleased to say the demon and the monsters are slain, and before we set out tomorrow I shall cleanse the font with holy water to rid the world of its threat,” Uka said matter of factly, guilt stinging her through her pain-induced grump at the darkening of Ameiko's eyes when her brother was mentioned by omission.  
“You're terrible at this,” Ameiko playfully chided, “that's what happened; I wanted a story.”

Suddenly there was a black cat in the corner of the room, despite Tel sitting in the doorway, which jumped up onto the foot of the bed and began to purr contentedly.   
“Aww, hello Ula,” Ameiko said with a smile.  
“Good evening,” Uka added with a polite nod.  
Ula regarded them both coolly as cats do and then returned to staring at the blankets she was comfortably snuggled into.  
“Ok, your turn Shalelu, what happened on your adventure?” Ameiko asked.  
Shalelu looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking.  
“I discovered that the goblins are encamped at Thistletop. They're being led by a woman named ‘Nualia’ who apparent-,” was all she got out before Ameiko cut her off.  
“Uka, can you put the arrow back in? It seems better than death by boredom,” she said with a sly grin.  
“There is actually a humorous anecdote to how I learned that,” Shalelu said.  
“Go on,” Ameiko said with a smile.

“I cornered a goblin, a Druid, when he went to answer the call of nature. At knifepoint he told me that Nualia was the longshanks in charge, and that she had taken Tsuto as a lover, apparently he'd seen them –and these were his words, not mine- going at it like donkey rats,” she said, hoping to put a smile on Ameiko's face.  
When Ameiko didn't respond Shalelu looked so crestfallen Uka felt the need to intervene.  
“Regrettably Tsuto was slain this morning in the glassworks,” she stated.  
Shalelu looked horrified.  
“I'm so sorry. My gods Ameiko, why didn't you tell me?” she asked, moving to her friend’s side.  
“I'm sorry Shalelu, I didn't want to bring you down when you'd just gotten back. But, he… he’s the one that shot me,” she said with tears welling in her eyes and she sniffled to compose herself before continuing, “I'm sorry guys, you've got important things to discuss and I'm… Sorry.”  
Shalelu wrapped her in a hug as tight as she dared and Ameiko broke down on her shoulder, finally letting go of the breath she was holding for her all friends to come home safely.

Tel watched Shalelu and Ameiko hug it out and rubbed Hearths snout. In that scene he saw the countless times he'd cried into Hearths scales and he found a strange piece of empathy in the shared experience instead of his earlier resentment. He remembered that Hearth would try to cheer him up once the crisis had passed and he felt he might have a try at the same thing here. He waited for the two to break the hug, and once Ameiko's sobs had slowed he summoned his courage, drawn primarily from Hearth, and spoke.  
“Hey, I've got a story,” he said quietly.  
“Yeah?” said Ameiko hopefully.  
“Yeah. When we were down in the tunnels and those things attacked one jumped on my back, it would have bitten my throat out but the collar on the armour saved me. Then I tried to stand but fell over with it still on my back, but I held my sword so we'd both fall onto it and it didn't have armour so it got cut in the side as we landed,” he said, self conscious of his rambling but unwilling to quit.  
A smile broke through Ameiko's tears.  
“Awesome Tel, you think on your feet, don't you?” she said, continuing before Tel could reply, “another!”

“Do the brave adventurers need dinner?” an overworked but smiling Beth called from the kitchen.  
A round of yeah, yes please, that would be most appreciated, and give me the best one, flew out of the bedroom.  
“Keep yer britches on, and you'll only get fed if the snake behaves itself,” she said, giving Hearth a mock scowl.  
Hearth looked offended.  
“Pfeh, you don't fool me,” laughed Bethana as she poured the leftovers into the offered maw.  
Hearth swallowed the lot then just opened his mouth again.  
“You'll have to wait,” Bethana scolded as she went about preparing the meals, while tossing every available scrap to Hearth.  
Soon Bethana had their meals ready and no sooner had she handed them out than she was called away by the needs of the inns patrons. With food in front of them, even if only a hearty broth in the case of Uka and Ameiko, their spirits lifted and Tel's rambling attempt at a story became the first of many.

Between the two of them Uka and Tel filled the others in on their adventures while Shalelu told stories of her patrol to Thistletop. Ameiko listened intently and asked for clarification frequently when she was dissatisfied with her friends lack of storytelling flair. Despite the hard day they'd all had and the pain they were collectively in, emotional and physical, the mood in the crowded bedroom was jovial. As soon as Bethana was finished for the night she moved in to join the discussions and stories that were being passed around while she ate her fill as only a halfling could. Although Tel was a withdrawn sort at the best of times even he found the mood in the room contagious and he managed a few chuckles here and there. Fatigue soon stole the voice of Ameiko but she seemed content to just sit and listen to the wonder of the age; three reserved people being cajoled into socialising by the ever energetic Bethana. 

Before any of them realised it the hour had grown late and although the energy was winding down it did so gradually and happily. Ameiko was the first lost to sleep, despite her valiant battle against her sinking eyelids, followed shortly by Uka who similarly fought the effects of fatigue. Tel was the next to go down, only realising he'd fallen asleep when he was gently woken by Shalelu shaking his shoulder.  
“You'll wake sore if you spend the night in a doorway,” she said with a soft smile.   
Tel nodded in acknowledgment and rubbed his bleary eyes.  
“Here, I'll help your to your feet,” Shalelu said, offering her hand.  
Tel took it and hauled himself up with her help.  
“Thanks,” he mumbled sleepily, before releasing her arm and staggering over to Hearth.  
Hearth propped Tel up with his head as they made their way over into their shed, and Tel climbed onto his spot on Hearths leg with a warm feeling in his belly. Too tired for his mind to bother trying to analyse it he just spoke his mind.  
“You know Hearth, today was a good day,” he slurred with his eyes closed as he tumbled into sleep.

######


	8. Chapter 8

Hi Everyone, apologies for the stupidly long wait between chapters. Unfortunately, my father died early in the year after a battle with bowel cancer and it took me a while to get writing again. Anyway, as always, I hope you enjoy it =)

######

Tel cracked open an eye and peered up at the membrane of the wing above him. The light creeping in around the edges indicated that the sun was well on its way to mid-morning, which was odd as Hearth was still soundly asleep beneath him. Tel closed his eyes again and felt the rhythm of their hearts and the cycle of their breathing. It was all he needed in the world, but as of a week ago it was no longer all he wanted. He tried to slip off Hearths leg without waking him, but failed. Although Hearth didn't move he drew that slightly deeper breath Tel knew meant he'd awoken.   
“I'm sorry my friend, I was trying to be stealthy,” Tel said with an apologetic rub.  
Hearth just warbled drowsily then slowly retracted his wing, flooding Tel's eyes with light, and revealing Shalelu as she walked out the back door of the inn. Her long blonde hair glimmered in the sun and her beautiful face curled into a smile. She was wearing her usual woodland-coloured garb, but with the gleam of a tight fitting suit of chainmail showing through the gaps, and her bow was slung across her shoulder. It dawned on him slowly that they must still be going to Thistletop despite Uka's incapacitation. He didn't know if he liked the idea of going without Uka, she was truly a force to be reckoned with and capable of magical healing to boot. 

Shalelu had noticed him looking and the pair made awkward eye contact. Tel waved.  
“Morning,” Shalelu said, returning the wave.  
“So, is Uka coming? Because we should probably, y’know,” Tel finished awkwardly.  
“Yes, she is,” Shalelu said, waking closer so she didn't have to raise her voice, “We've been down in the tunnels you discovered all morning. Uka was pretty insistent that we destroy that vile font and the undead before we leave.”  
“Oh. Ok. I thought Uka might have still been…”  
“Her powers of magical healing are potent, to be sure, and Uka felt it unnecessary to squeeze Hearth into the tunnels again, so we let you sleep,” she continued, giving a smile and a nod.  
“So, ah, when are we leaving?” Tel asked, rubbing the back of his neck to soothe his uncertainty.  
“As soon as Uka gets back, and when you two are ready,” Shalelu said, gesturing towards the unkempt pair, “we’ll head off to Thistletop.”  
Tel looked down at himself and shrugged. He probably could use a cleaning as he was still semi-covered in blood, Uka’s as well as the blood of the weird creatures from the tunnel.

Tel looked back up to see Shalelu looking at him with a cocked eyebrow. Tel just shrugged. He didn't smell that bad and it was hardly as though he was filthy.  
“Forgotten it already?” Shalelu asked, then nodded to the sword and armour piled neatly in the corner of their shed.  
Tel subconsciously touched his abdomen, and felt only his shirt where yesterday he had felt the stiff resistance of Ameiko’s gift. Now he thought back on the evening he remembered waking up in the middle of the night with the unfamiliar weight of the armour on his chest.  
“Not forgotten, just not used to it yet,” Tel replied, furrowing his brow in annoyance.  
“I'm sorry Tel, I meant no offence. It was meant as a joke,” Shalelu said, motioning apologetically in an attempt to add sincerity to her words.  
Tel spent a moment cooling his thoughts and derailing his habitual negativity, then smiled. The pause had dragged to awkwardness and Shalelu looked to be struggling with what say next almost as much as he was.  
“It's ok,” he said, beating her to the punch, “how's Ameiko?”  
Shalelu looked glad for the change of pace.  
“She's doing as well as can be expected, she's in a great deal of pain and very weak, but her chances of survival are good according to Uka. I'm pretty sure she would have come with us if she could,” she said.  
Tel almost laughed. That sounded exactly like Ameiko. Though all the sentimentality he was feeling did not sound like him.

“I might, you know, go say hi. To her. To Ameiko,” Tel said, tripping over his monotone words.  
He was trying to care, figure out how he felt and hold a conversation. Not one item on the list got done properly. Shalelu nodded.  
“Uka and I will fetch you,” she said, then simply walked away.  
Tel belted on his sword, slipped into his armoured shirt and strapped on his bracer. He looked to Hearth who was waiting expectantly by the inns door. Tel could see how much it meant to Hearth that they were saying goodbye, and he allowed a smile on his face and maybe even some warmth in his heart as they moved into the kitchen. Bethana was busily trying to run the place herself and was out behind the bar at the moment, but Tel noted that the enchantment on the washtub was definitely lightening the load. He cautiously knocked on Ameiko’s door and waited.  
“Yeah?” came the strained answer.  
“Its Tel. And Hearth. Tel and Hearth,” he said flatly.  
“Come in,” Ameiko said in what passed for a raised voice.  
Tel let himself in and waved awkwardly from the doorway. Ameiko looked terrible. If anything she looked more bedraggled than yesterday. She was pale and her brow was glistening with sweat. Noticing his stare Ameiko beckoned him closer.

“How do I look?” She asked, a weak smile on the corner of her lips.  
“Like shit,” Tel replied as he moved to stand by her side.  
“Thanks for the honesty. Turns out the pain relief from Ukas spell wears off, though she,” Ameiko paused, wincing in pain, “she assures me it's for the best, so I don't move and interrupt the healing.”  
“Uka is pretty good with that kind’ve thing,” he said, hoping to be reassuring.  
He fought a sudden urge to walk out of the room. He'd seen this hundreds of times before, people on deaths door slowly being dragged across that terrible threshold by their injuries. He looked at Ameiko and saw just another doomed chunk of meat, waiting to be butchered into animal feed. He knew that the deadness he felt could turn to frustration and rage at himself if he wasn't careful, but he was unwilling to just walk away.   
“Bad memories?” Ameiko asked out of the blue.  
Tel's internal war slowed, and somehow he felt he could be honest about this with her.  
“Yeah,” he replied, that single word representing a huge moral win.  
“From when you were,” Ameiko continued slowly, watching Tel's reaction to each word, “still a gladiator?”  
“Yeah,” he said, pursing his lips and nodding.  
He had no idea how ‘dead numb’ and ‘mind blowing fear’ could coexist in the same memories, but there he was. Maybe he was numb to his own fear, he wondered.  
“I'm not the first you've seen like this, am I?”  
“No,” he said as his eyes fell to the ground.  
“Well if it makes you feel any better, that night you came to the inn with your fever… you weren't the first person I'd seen dying either. But I was determined,” Ameiko winced again, “I was determined you weren't going to be another dead man on my mind.”

Tel didn't know what to say, he just stood there dumbfounded as Ameiko's words soaked in, so she continued.  
“The world can be a right piece of shit Tel, you definitely know it better than most, but you've got to push back. Fight your demons, deny them their fuel. Don't give up and accept this shitty existence, but take it from me, helping someone in their hour of need is a good blanket against the cold,” she said, looking him straight in the eye as she did so.  
As soon as she stopped speaking the weird transfixing effect of her voice broke, and Tel's gaze went back to the floor. He briefly chewed over what she'd said. He did know how shitty life could be, but in his heart he knew he'd never be like Ameiko. Still, that didn't mean he wouldn't try to improve.  
“Yeah, maybe,” he said noncommittally, then dragged his gaze back to hers to continue, “we'll see how we go.”  
Ameiko smiled and relaxed, rolling her head back to stare at the roof.  
“But that's enough self-help for one day. You guys gotta get out there and do damage,” she said to the rafters.  
“That's usually Hearths domain, more so than mine,” Tel replied.  
“On that note, Tel, can I ask you a favour?” Ameiko asked, making the effort to look back to him.

“Uh, I mean you can ask,” said Tel warily.  
“Tel, Hearth is the one who has the least to fear in this endeavour, and I know he'll be watching your back. If you can, please watch out for Uka and Shalelu. It's not that I don't have faith in their abilities, they're both incredible, but it's easy for… shit to happen. I don't want to lose any of you,” she said, lying back again when a tear rolled down her cheek.  
Tel had no idea what to say, so he thought about it.  
“Hearth first, always, but I'll keep an eye on them,” he said.  
As soon as the words left his mouth Hearth gave a happy roo of agreement, and Ameiko closed her eyes with a smile.

“Tel, I trust you are ready?” Uka called around Hearths shoulders into the kitchen.  
Tel suddenly felt overwhelmed by anxiety. This was it. Talking about choices and life risking was all well and good, but actually choosing to risk your life attacking a crazy woman leading a goblin alliance was another. He mentally recited his antidotes: Hearth, Project Sandpoint and Hearth again.  
He nodded in reply to Uka, proud of his resolve.  
“Tel? You in there?” Uka called.  
He realised she probably couldn't see his nod through the wall, which somewhat spoiled his moment.  
“Yeah, I'm ready,” he called back.  
“Excellent, Shalelu and I are waiting outside,” Uka replied.  
Tel took a deep breath and blew a sigh.  
“Hey,” called Ameiko weakly, breaking into his bubble, “got to give me a hug goodbye.”  
“Huh?”  
“You know what a hug is,” she said with mock condescension.  
“What? Well, yeah. But, I mean,” he said, making a couple of half gestures with his hands.  
“Please Tel?” Ameiko gently urged.  
He relented and shuffled the last foot to stand by Ameiko's side. He bent down and gingerly put a hand on each shoulder then lowered his head as close to her chest as he dared. Suddenly, and with surprising strength, his hug was returned, pressing him tightly to her.  
“Stay safe out there, both of you,” she whispered urgently into his ear, “and whatever you do come back.”  
Tel relaxed his tense muscles a little and gave a small nod. He waited patiently for Ameiko to relent, then slowly stood himself back up and picked a piece of blanket from his mouth.

He looked at Ameiko who was too weak to say anything while fighting back tears, so he just nodded again and waved awkwardly. There was a weird feeling somewhere in his psyche.  
“We'll be back soon,” he said quietly, not daring to go any louder lest fate overhear and be tempted.  
Ameiko could only wave and watch through tear blurred eyes as he walked out. He smiled when he saw Hearth and the dragon gave him a resolved look as he walked over. Hearth looked at Ameiko's doorway then let loose a rolling drone, loud enough to rattle cutlery, and when it subsided Tel could have sworn he heard a sob. He looked Hearth in the eye. Their choice had been made, and the time for indecision passed, now they had a fight to win. Tel put a hand on Hearths cheek and flashed him a smile.  
“I'm ready my friend,” he said.  
As soon as the words left his mouth Hearth moved out of the doorway and the pair walked out into the courtyard where Shalelu and Uka were waiting. 

“Excellent, now that we're all here, it's time to finalise the plan. This morning Shalelu and I, while destroying the font and undead, discussed possible plans of attack. Please feel free to interject if you have any recommendations, but we felt that a frontal attack on the camp would be suicide, so we propose that we destroy the rope bridge connecting the small islet that Thistletop sits atop to the mainland. This will isolate the forces in the fort from the assembled horde, allowing us to deal with Nualia,” Uka said, then looked to Tel and Hearth for a response.  
“Can't we just burn the place from the air? Why risk anything more than a few arrows?” Tel asked.  
He was sure Uka wouldn't have missed anything so trivial, but he wanted to know why.  
“Excellent point Tel, but unfortunately I believe the islet Thistletop sits atop is similar to Choppers isle, and likely has a tunnel network in which Nualia resides. We don't want to have to navigate an inferno to reach her,” Uka replied.  
Tel appreciated the explanation, but halfway through something caught the corner of his eye. Hearth was fidgeting with excitement, it was only small movements of his tail and claws but Tel had known him long enough to recognise it. And it had certainly never been to this extent. He smiled, Hearth was doing his best to appear composed and impartial, but really he just wanted at em.  
“Thanks Uka. I guess we volunteer for bridge duty, but is there a signal or anything you want us to follow?” Tel enquired of both Uka and Shalelu.

“Shalelu and I are hoping to sneak ahead and dispose of any sentries that might have bows. Once we've done that I'll use a spell to let you know when to destroy the bridge. After the bridge is down they'll definitely be aware of us, so if you could make haste to land on Thistletop Shalelu and I would very much appreciate it,” Uka said, fielding the question for the quiet elf.  
“Send the signal and we’ll be there,” said Tel, looking to Hearth for confirmation.  
Hearth was about to explode. He'd clawed little grooves in the cobbles and his tail looked like an angry snake.   
“After that Tel if we follow a pattern similar to the glassworks with you and Hearth in the lead with myself and Shalelu supporting, we should do fine. Assuming that's ok with you both? I understand it's asking you to go first,” Uka said with none of her usual bossiness.  
Tel found himself in a weird position, in that he more or less trusted Uka to be there in support. Shalelu he wasn't so sure about, but Uka had been in enough of their battles that Tel mostly trusted she'd be there. Tel looked to Hearth again to double check, but when he saw those eager eyes he knew they'd find it impossible to keep him out of the vanguard.

He smiled. He'd come to nearly trust someone, he was pretty sure he managed to care about Ameiko and Uka both, he was starting to overcome his ridiculously hyper vigilant survival instinct, and best of all Hearth was excited about something they were doing together.  
“We’ll be ok,” he said, then turned back to the other two, “anything else?”  
“No, that will be all. Now if you could conceal yourselves in a cloud and await our signal Shalelu and I will be off. Good luck to you both,” Uka said to Tel and Hearth with a warm smile and a nod.  
“Yeah, you too. Good luck Uka, and good luck to you too Shalelu,” he said with a nod to each in turn.  
“Kind winds to you both,” Shalelu replied.

With the plan down and the well wishes out of the way Tel moved to mount up. Hearth wasted no time and as soon as Tel was ready he let out a roar like thunder. Tel had only heard its like once before, and even then with nothing like its volume. It was a sound that left the listener assured that whatever made it had no equal for violence. It filled Tel with joy to see his friend so energetic, and Uka seemed unfazed, but everywhere else people dropped things, cowered and shook. With that Hearth left the courtyard at a canter, galloped down the street and took off over the docks with gusto that left the boats rocking in their moorings.

As they followed the coast north Tel found he had time to think. Usually he thought of fearful things and had his work cut out for him chasing them of, this time however his thoughts were somewhere they hadn't been in years. The future. In a few hours the immediate threat to Sandpoint might be passed and he and Hearth would have nothing to distract them from Project Sandpoint itself. Indeed Uka had offered them a place on Choppers Isle with her. But, oddly, the more he thought about the issue the less he realised he needed to. Somewhere along the line, and he wasn't quite sure where, the decision to stay in Sandpoint had already been made. Surviving was easy in the town, and the project was going well, with trust and caring starting to creep in at the edges if he put his mind to it. Just another reason to be in this fight he thought as Hearth began to gain altitude and turn towards a cloud. As the cool, damp air whipped through his hair his mind turned to other things, like the fact he had no idea what Uka’s notification spell might look like. Perhaps a giant red light?

His musings on the particular form the notification might take were frequently interrupted by Hearth impatiently wriggling his tail, and as time wore on Tel found his thoughts drifting to implications of long-term residency in Sandpoint. Just as he was beginning to formulate a plan for approaching Shayliss Uka’s voice appeared in his left ear.  
“Tel, we have removed some of the entries, but the remainder are alerted to our presence. Please begin your attack run on the bridge now,” said the disembodied voice.  
Anxiety flooded straight back into Tel's mind, but he pushed down the crippling fear urging him to flee and put a hand on Hearths head.  
“Now my friend, let's go,” he said, with a smile on his face and a clear objective in his mind.  
He hunched low to Hearths neck, just peering out from between his horns, in preparation for Hearths meteoric dive. Tel felt his stomach grow heavy as the dragon pitched up, losing all his momentum, and then rolled lazily to the left. Hearths nose fell across the horizon and when he was onto a line with the bridge he rolled himself back to level then furled his wings. Like a dark spear they plunged, ever faster, towards the ground. The wind roared in Tel's ears and bit into his squinted eyes as the trees rushed up to meet them, but the butterflies in his stomach drowned sensations in a sea of elation made salty with fear. Knowing what was coming he tensed his muscles a moment before Hearths wings opened with a snap, turning them 90 degrees in an instant and sending them screaming just across the tops of the greenery below.

Looking down Tel could see goblins staring up in stunned awe, but they flashed by too quickly to for him to get a good look at what they were doing. Instead he just focussed his attention forward, keeping an eye out for anything that might spell trouble. In a few seconds time the fort called Thistletop came into view. It was little more than a stockade perched atop a 30-something foot high cylinder of rock jutting up from the surf. The outer palisade was about 10 feet high and made of old, rotting timer covered in creepers except where the goblins had made repairs or modifications from haphazardly assembled newer bits and pieces. Sitting up against the ocean side of the fort was a large timber structure, old and creeper covered like the wall, which appeared to be the keep. Opposite the keep was a crude gate leading to the bridge connecting the islet to the mainland. Trusting Hearth to know what to do Tel looked around for Uka and Shalelu. He couldn't see either of them on the wall, and there was too much greenery outside the palisade for him to spot either of the stealthy women he realised, so he tried looking for dead goblins. Sure enough he spotted a few at the outside base of the wall, with either arrows hanging from their throats or their heads on backwards. 

Before he could resume his search for Uka and Shalelu he felt Hearth inhale. There was the surge of heat and then Hearth ducked his head forward, bringing Tel into the full force of the airstream and leaving them both facing the ground while Hearth flew parallel to it. Tel felt Hearths neck muscles contract weirdly and the deep exhalation as dragonfire poured forth in a low roar. The leading fluid was quickly engulfed in fire, shrouding the flimsy rope bridge in an inferno. When they neared the fort Hearth ceased his assault, then pulled up. As they climbed into the sky Tel looked back to see the bridge was no more. Dragging his eyes away he resumed his search for Uka and Shalelu. This time around however he spotted the pair waving from the base of the southern palisade.   
“Down there Hearth,” he said, pointing.  
Hearth cocked his head to follow Tel's hand and after a moments search nodded then began his descent. 

Uka looked up at the dragon as he made his wide-arcing descent. It was interesting that he'd needed Tel to point him in the right direction just now, while a couple of nights ago he'd managed to detect her in complete darkness. After a moments thought she realised that his powers of detection must have a limited range. She filed this information away and glanced back towards the mainland where the few feet of bridge remaining hung, smouldering, from their posts. The decision to destroy the bridge had been a good one she decided, as the veritable horde of goblins was beginning to amass on the far cliff. She turned to look at Shalelu. The ranger was either stupendously hard to impress or very disciplined, as even Uka had to admit she found the sight of dragonfire stirring. 

A moment later Hearth touched down amongst the waist deep greenery outside the palisade and Tel dropped from his seat into one of the numerous thistles growing there.  
“Ow,” he exclaimed, reaching gingerly for the thorn that had narrowly missed an extremely sensitive spot.  
Uka pursed her lips impatiently as Tel extracted the prickle, wondering at how thoroughly they'd just destroyed the grandiosity of the situation. A sideways glance at Shalelu revealed that she was enjoying the situation, a grin creeping into the corners of her mouth. After what seemed like an age Tel flicked the offending plant material to the ground and Uka cleared her throat.  
“Done?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“Yeah.”  
“Excellent. Then let us continue. The goblins appear to be dug in here quite heavily, and it would be best to mount our assault before they devise a way across to the fort,” Uka said, replacing the anxiety she felt with urgency in her tone.  
“It's weird,” said Shalelu, “they should have fled when they saw Hearth. Something is seriously wrong here.”  
“Strong leadership?” offered Uka when Tel said nothing.  
“No, this goes beyond that. Goblins are fundamentally cowardly, they'd never be keen to fight something like a dragon. This is more like worship,” Shalelu said, looking into the seething mob on the far cliff.  
“Then let us put an end to this,” Uka said emphatically, “I suspect we will not find Nualia in that structure within the stockade, however, I suspect we shall find the entrance to her lair.”  
Shalelu looked troubled, and glanced towards the stockades mouldering posts. 

Tel felt like he ought to be contributing something to this conversation, but he didn't really have anything to add. Uka had covered everything he could think of and Shalelu was the resident goblin expert so he just waited for the next phase of the plan. Part of him wondered whether he should be rankling under this self imposed control, but looking at Uka and Shalelu told him they knew more about what was going on here than he did. Besides, Hearth seemed to be enjoying the plan so far.  
“This all feels wrong,” said Shalelu under her breath.  
Tel paused and tried to open his creepy senses. He got nothing. Not even an ominous gust of wind. Then he remembered his talk to Ameiko.  
“Uka and I have been creepier places than this, and Uka is pretty good at detecting that, ah, y’know, creepy stuff,” he said, shrugging when words failed him.  
Shalelu turned slowly away from the palisade to look at him and Tel suddenly felt awkwardly thrust into the spotlight. Thankfully Uka came to his rescue.  
“Tel is correct,” Uka added, walking towards the palisade with the plants politely parting to get out of her way, “the temple beneath Choppers Isle was far more steeped in corruption. That the goblins are acting outside the norm I shall accept from your experience, but so long as they continue to act strangely on the other cliff I think pressing on is the best course of action.”

Shalelu looked back to Tel who managed a smile and a thumbs up.   
“Sorry, I did not mean to cast a pall over this venture,” she said, returning the smile.  
“Nonsense, far better that we be forewarned of anything out of the ordinary,” said Uka as strands of hair began to climb her up the palisade.  
“I am glad you feel that way, many brave people are lost to a lack of caution,” she replied.  
Shalelu nodded to Tel then moved towards the palisade, disturbing barely a leaf as she went, and began to scale the wall easily with a rangers training and her elven grace. Tel looked up at them and realised he had neither magical hair nor elven grace. Hearth snorted softly and Tel turned to see what was up. Immediately he saw the mischievous glint in the Dragons eyes and he followed their gaze to a rotten section of the wall. Tel moved as quickly as he dared through the prickles toward Hearths front leg, then positioned himself at the back of it. Hearth lowered his head to take the impact on his horns and leapt forward.

Tel and Hearth exploded into the fort in a storm of rotten timber. Tel drew his sword and dropped to the ground beneath Hearth, ready for the goblins to come sallying forth from their keep. They didn't. Hearth looked disappointed and glanced around before giving Tel a questioning look.  
“I'm not sure my friend, Shalelu did say they were cowards, perhaps they're hiding?” he replied.  
“Oh yes, very stealthy,” Uka commented sarcastically, brushing rotten splinters from her hat as she came over to join them.  
“Element of surprise,” Tel countered, then wondered where the words had come from.  
Before Uka could reply Shalelu called out softly.  
“Hey, look,” she said, pointing to a lean-to built up against the north palisade wall.  
There, tied up and looking decidedly worse for wear, was a magnificent white horse.  
“What a beautiful creature,” Shalelu said, then checking for threats and seeing none, she moved over to it.  
Tel didn't think it was that beautiful. It was about half the height of Hearth and had none of his regal countenance. What was remarkable was Shalelu, at an easy jog she made the distance in a time Tel would have been pressed to match at a run, all the while making no noise whatsoever. After a brief encounter, composed primarily of Shalelu letting the horse sniff her hand and her making weird noises, she made her way back.

“When we head home I would like to bring him back with us, if we can. He is far too beautiful to leave to the goblins cruelties,” Shalelu said, aiming the question at Hearth.  
Hearth rooed and nodded, then looked at the horse and snorted derisively. Tel smiled.  
“If we might focus on the task at hand?” Uka said impatiently, “on the way home I shall magically sedate the beast and Hearth is graceful enough to carry it I gather?”  
Hearth seemed much happier with this assortment of adjectives and nodded again.  
“Excellent, then let us proceed,” she continued.  
The four made their way over to the wooden keep and noted that all the windows, little more than arrow slits, had all been barricaded recently.  
“They're expecting us,” said Shalelu, voicing their joint conclusion.  
“Yeah, I wonder what they’re up to in there,” said Tel, moving towards a small gap in the barricades he reckoned he could peek through.  
“No!” hissed Shalelu urgently, pulling him back by the shoulder when she noticed what he was about.  
“What? What is it?” asked Tel, looking around for what had the ranger on edge.  
“The gaps,” she said pointing, “they're spots of light from the inside, if you block one out you can bet an arrow will be on its way.”  
“Fuck,” he said, “thank you. That didn't cross my mind.”  
Hearths snout was suddenly on the scene, concern in his eyes, and once Tel had given him an all-ok smile the snout nuzzled Shalelu in thanks.

“Well done Shalelu,” said Uka, “now, we still need a way in that doesn't involve too many arrows.”  
Hearth just huffed and pawed the ground, then took a step back. Tel knew exactly what he was thinking and so ran for his legs. He hated the danger this put Hearth in, but he would be found nowhere but at his friend's side. As soon as he was aboard Hearth charged. Tel looked back to see that Uka knew what as about to happen, while Shalelu wore a momentary look of puzzlement. He turned to face the front just in time to realise he needed to duck back behind Hearths leg fully as his horns met the door. The timbers were thick and sturdy but rot had taken its toll, even so Tel felt the jarring impact through Hearths leg as the unstoppable force met the immovable object. With a horrendous crack the doorframe gave way, the leg Tel was holding straining against the floor to propel them forward. Then, suddenly, they were in. 

The keep appeared to be, in the front at least, one huge room with its roof supported by thick timber columns and sagging beams. To the right was a fireplace in which burned a fire clearly struggling against the damp conditions. The focal point of the room however was at the back. A raised area running the length of the rear wall held a score of goblins, and in their midst stood a crude, wooden throne. The goblins were all armed like the ones in the raid with swords and bows, but with generally better quality gear insofar as that applied to goblin equipment. Two stood out however, one was wearing priestly robes of some description and the other was wearing heavy armour and mounted on the back of a lizard. With a strange calmness that flew in the face of a dragon breaking in the goblins stood their ground while the mounted goblin downed a vial of some ruddily glowing fluid, threw the empty vial to the ground, and roared a battle cry. The goblins loosed their arrows.

Hearth crossed his front legs, offering double protection to Tel, then tucked his head in too. The pair made eye contact a moment before the arrows struck. The wince as the volley sunk home didn't dispel the excitement in Hearths eyes and as soon as the storm passed he unfolded himself and moved in to attack. With Hearths legs and head out of the way Tel assessed the situation. The goblin archers were reloading with a discipline experienced mercenaries would be envious of and Tel feared they would get another volley off before they struck their lines. The priest was busily chanting something Tel feared was a spell, and he heard the name ‘Lamashtu’ repeated numerous times. What was worst was the lizard goblin. It held a long, viscously-bladed spear and its mount, without missing a beat, scurried straight up the nearest column and came hurtling towards them across the roof. With all the movement of their enemies Hearths usual speed seemed painfully inadequate and the bounding leaps they were covering the ground in passed in slow motion.

They managed to reach the goblin lines a moment before they fired their second volley, Hearth managing to bite one in half and claw another to death before being forced to hide Tel and his own head. Now that they were amongst the goblins the ones on the ends of the rise could get an angle sufficient to shoot around the shield of Hearths legs. Tel saw Hearth wince as the arrows hit home again; a hit under his chin and a couple in the flank as the goblins punished their exposed sides. Then Tel felt something punch him in the spine, and something else burning his thigh. He staggered at the pain and saw an arrow drop to the ground, a few threads from his shirt caught in the barbed head. Realisation flashed into his mind, Ameiko's gift had just saved his life again. He looked down to his thigh, fearing the worst, and was relieved to see that it wasn't serious. The arrow had cut a furrow into his leg on its way to clatter off Hearths scales, but although it was bleeding steadily it wasn't immediately life-threatening.

Whirling to face the direction the arrow had come from, keen to deny the archers another shot at his back, he got the goblin into view for only a moment before an arrow struck it in the eye, sending it tumbling to the ground atop one of its dead comrades. He risked a glance back and saw Shalelu aiming another shot, loosing it, then ducking back as some of the survivors of the flank she was targeting started to return fire. Hearth unfolded himself again and began to engage the forest of swords presented to him.  
“Move to the left, Shalelu has the ones on the right,” Tel yelled as he frantically scanned their foes for the priest.  
He located the chanting goblin just in time for the ball of sickly green energy it was working on to come flying towards them. The foul projectile made it only a few feet before being intercepted by a silvery rune in the air, blowing it apart in a shower of multicoloured sparks.  
“Hrumph, amateur,” came Uka's mumble, before she began a spell of her own.  
Tel didn't wait to find out what she was conjuring and urged Hearth forward into the archers to their left. As Hearth lunged forward into the crowded goblins Tel stepped out from under his bulk and scanned the roof, looking for the lizard-riding goblin. He soon spotted it, scurrying over the rafters and bearing down on Hearth’s exposed back. The dragon had clearly spotted it too, and swung himself to face the threat from above, while still covering Tel from the archers as best he could. 

The lizard slipped from Tel's view as Hearth moved to cover him and instead he saw the little twitches of pain running over Hearths skin as the goblin archers continued their assault. He wracked his brain for a plan then, suddenly, the whole world went grey and damp. At first he thought he might have died, but he quickly realised that it wasn't the grey pall of the afterlife, but rather mist. The thick blanket of the stuff reduced visibility to 10 feet and gave the archers a much harder time aiming their shots to strike Hearth but miss their allies, all but forcing them to fight at arms length. What he needed to do now was give Hearth an easy time in the ensuing melee, and by his estimation the best way to do that was keep that lizard off his back. He ducked around a swiping foreleg as it smashed a goblin to red ruin and put his hand to Hearths flank.  
“Hearth!” he called, already reaching for the horn still 5 feet away.  
Hearth spared him a glance and, seeing what he was about, threw his head around towards Tel and flicked the man onto his back like they'd done so many hundreds of times before. This time was a little different for a lot of reasons, not least of which was the horde of enemies, and Tel found the footing treacherous. While he was midair Hearth was forced to give ground to a spear thrust towards his exposed neck, his throat left open while he got Tel onto his back, leaving the man to stumble forward on landing. 

Tel had aimed to land between Hearths shoulders, but the muscles moving under his feet and his excess momentum left him overbalanced. He threw a foot forward blindly when he realised he was going to fall straight off the far side of his friends broad shoulders, but Hearth had his back as always and positioned his wing to catch his foot and keep him standing. Tel regained his balance just in time to see the goblins lance thrusting towards Hearths back. He made a backhanded left to right slash, timing his swing to connect with the jagged head of the spear, and as he'd hoped his sword snagged one of the spears barbs. As the thrust was deflecting harmlessly wide, extending down passed Hearths neck, Tel found himself in an awkward position. If he held onto his sword he'd likely be thrown from Hearths back, but if he let go he'd be disarmed. Without thinking he let go of his sword with his right hand and snatched the shaft of the lance with his left. The armoured goblin shouted in its own strange language and pulled back hard, hoping to yank the lance from Tel's grip, and although the weapon slipped a few inches through his fingers Tel retained his hold. His now-empty right hand quickly joined his left and he tugged back against the goblin, throwing his weight down as Hearth moved to extend his size advantage over his smaller opponent. The goblins face twisted into a snarl of rage and disbelief as its plan for the fight went fully out the window and its lance was pulled from its grasp.

Not wanting to waste time turning the long pole around Tel rammed the butt of the lance into the goblin. It was hardly an expertly aimed or executed attack, but it struck the goblin in the chin as it hung upside-down from the straps of its saddle, smashing its mouth open. Tel quickly retracted the weapon, both to ready another strike and to prevent it being snatched back off him. Strangely though the goblin just blinked, as if awakening from a daze, and it looked around the room in disbelief. Before it could recover Tel attacked again, scoring a solid hit on one of its gnarled and warty hands. The goblin howled in pain and yelled at Tel, then kicked its spurs into its lizards flank and fled towards the door. It was Tel's turn at disbelief and he watched it go. It took only a moment of inattention for Hearths movements to nearly send him tumbling to the floor and he quickly turned his mind back to more immediate threats. He spent a moment trying to locate his sword on the ground, but gave up almost immediately as the mist rendered the floor invisible. 

Hearth moved again, sending Tel wobbling, and he reflexively threw out a leg to catch himself. Once again Hearth moved himself to catch Tel's foot and he caught his balance easily. Tel urgently looked around for something that might guide his next move, specifically that damn goblin spell caster, but the mist was too thick to spot it so Tel moved to help Hearth with the goblins. He stepped forward, hoping to shimmy down the front of Hearths neck, but as he took the step Hearth sprung backwards. Realising that the strange synchronicity that had guided their movements had finally met its limit Tel braced for a fall. He fell only a couple of feet before Hearth had his paw under his boots, gently lowering the limb as Tel slid to deposit him safely on the ground. Tel took a moment to realise what had happened and orient himself, then quickly got his head back into the fight. 

Hearth had wisely given ground as Tel had come down from his back, allowing him to do so unmolested, but it would also give the goblins an opportunity to regroup. He spared a heartbeat to give Hearth a warm smile, but it fell from his face when he saw his condition. Gashes in his face and legs bled freely, and arrows protruded from between scales marking the headwaters of numerous streams of blood. Yet Tel was unsurprised to see the enthusiasm undimmed in those great eyes. He forced the smile back onto his face, then ran to his usual place behind a scaled foreleg. Hearth needed no encouragement and once again they charged into the foe. The first goblin to appear in the mist was in tight formation with three others and they presented a wall of blades to the charging duo. Tel readied himself as best he could with the unfamiliar weapon he was wielding and thought to attempt to break the goblins formation before Hearth connected using the superior reach of his spear. 

He aimed a thrust at the crudely booted feet of one of the centre goblins and cursed the uneven weight of the spear as its heavy head fell low and bit into the rotten timber floor. It had been so close. Still, Tel thought quickly, and he took a short step forward for better leverage then pushed down on the back end of the spear with all his strength while his front hand held its position. The tip of the spear easily broke free of the mouldering planks and flew up into the bottom of the goblins crude phalanx. It was too late to break their formation properly, but it was a distraction at the very last second. Goblin swords that might have otherwise been aimed precisely into Hearths charge were now at an angle ever so slightly, and instead of sinking deep cut only superficial furrows if they managed to pierce scales at all. Tel felt Hearth move to make a sweeping slash with his left claw, so instead of retracting the spear for another thrust he swept it, fully extended, into the helmet of the left hand centre goblin. The impact was hardly damaging, but it was enough to distract at a critical time once again, consigning the small creature to a grisly fate as Hearths powerful swipe dismembered it. As Hearth swept his paw through its devastating arc his head flashed down over his leg and bit the far left goblin off at the waist. 

Seeing an opening Tel stepped forward to stand where the two dead goblins had been in an attempt to flank the remaining creatures. Hearth swung his hindquarters around in the same direction, leaving the goblins lined up and unable to press their numbers. The advance had also allowed Tel to shorten his grip on the spear and return to a ready stance. The goblin in front wasted no time in attacking, aiming an overhead slash at Hearths throat as the dragon repositioned. Tel rushed forward to block the swing of the blade before it could build momentum, using his height to put the haft of his spear horizontally above the goblins head. The sword met wood with a low thunk and just as Tel was about to pat himself on the back the goblin head butted him in the gut. His armour absorbed the majority of the impact, but it was unexpected and caught him thoroughly off guard. He wildly retaliated with a knee to the goblins ribs which he immediately regretted when he struck crude armour. Much like he had though, the goblin suffered a surprise if not a serious injury. Without time to plan a proper course of action, and trusting Hearth to get the other one, he threw his weight to the right in hopes of reducing the battle to a ground grapple where his size advantage would be most telling. 

They both fell in a heap and Tel wasted no time. He pulled the goblins helmet down over its eyes then, when it reached to recover its sight, he made a grab for its sword. To its credit the goblin had a strong grip, but Tel had both hands on the job while the goblin had only one. Tel managed to get one hand around the blade and another onto the cross-guard and smashed the weapon into the floor handle first. The goblin held, despite its fingers taking most of the impact, and retaliated by punching Tel in the face. The impact of the gauntleted strike dazed him momentarily, but he retained wits enough to mash the goblins other hand into the floor again which loosened its grip. One more like that and he'd have the blade, he thought right as the goblin punched him again. He took the second hit right on the brow, and blood began to blur his vision as it flowed from the split skin, but he kept his wandering focus on the sword. He drove the sword into the floor a third time and felt it come free of the goblins grip. Throwing his whole body into the movement he swung the blade, pommel first, into the goblins flank. The impact was enough to throw it two feet across the floor and when it rolled to a halt it took a moment to orient itself. Tel wasn't going to give it time however, and he pulled himself over to it on all fours, then drew the sword back for double handed stab down into its chest. The goblins eyes went wide with panic, and it flailed ineffectually in defence of its life as the sword came down, its pleas for mercy lost in the language barrier as it died.

Seeing his foe was dead, and now armed, Tel stood up to return to the wider fight. He staggered as his balance failed him, and he clutched his bleeding head against the vertigo. He turned to find Hearth and saw him engaged with the goblins that had been trading arrows with Shalelu before the mist had arrived. Pressing his eyes shut for a moment, then opening them again with purpose, Tel charged the flank of the goblins. He didn't cry out a god of war, nor did he let out a bloodlust roar, instead he covered the ground as quickly and quietly as he could. The first goblin died before it knew Tel was there, its companions stolen sword piercing its neck from behind. The second whirled to face the new threat a moment before Tel cut its head halfway off with a wide slash. The last goblin didn't have time to scream before Hearth pinned its head to the floor and bit its legs off.

Tel blinked and squinted against the pain and blood in his eye in an attempt to get his bearings and scan for more foes on his way to Hearth. He reached his friend and took a moment to steady himself against his leg, then jumped backed to the ready when the mist disappeared as swiftly as it had come. The retreating vapours didn't reveal any charging foes however, only Uka and Shalelu and a whole lot of dead goblins. A quick glance in Uka's direction revealed the remains of the goblin spellcaster, his limbs all on backwards and his head at the wrong angle, revealing him to have fallen prey to her fearsomely strong hair. Swinging his gaze over to Shalelu Tel saw her calmly survey the ten goblins lying dead around her, then sheathe her sword and begin walking over. Tel didn't really care. The goblins were dead, that meant the pressure was off. He looked up to Hearth as he stepped out from under his wing and steeled himself for the horror of what he might see. 

Hearth’s injuries were severe, a collection of cuts, stabs and arrows all marked his hide, and draconic blood dripped to the ground with a steady plap-plap-plap. Tel wanted to be beside himself with grief and worry for Hearths safety, and to flagellate himself with guilt over it, but it was impossible to do so once he'd met Hearths gaze. The dragon looked elated, and Tel couldn't help but smile despite his horror and the pain in his head. He dropped his stolen sword and ran his fingers through his hair, then walked over to Hearth.  
“Well my friend, another melee survived,” he said, reaching out to hold Hearths cheeks, “if I didn't know better I'd say you enjoyed this.”  
Hearths enthusiasm dropped and he warbled sadly, then licked Tel's bruised face.  
“Don't worry about me, I'll be fine,” Tel said, trying to wave away Hearths licks.  
Hearth would not be dissuaded however, then he stopped suddenly and he looked towards the burst door with a question on his face. Tel smiled.  
“None of that,” he said, looking Hearth in the eye, “we both chose this, remember? I wouldn't be anywhere else.”  
Hearth relented in the face of Tel's smile and let the enthusiasm and excitement creep back in. It started with a light in his eye but quickly spread to a wriggle of the tail.  
“You're going to need to contain it a little bit,” Tel chided with a smile to cover the pain he felt at seeing Hearth so beaten up, “you'll need to hold still for me to pull the arrows out.”

“It would be for the best if you could develop a more complete picture of the situation before deciding on a course of action Tel, anyone can see that the most severe injury amongst us it that bruise on your face,” Uka said from behind him.  
Tel let go of the arrow he was about to try to remove from Hearth and turned to face her.  
“Huh?”  
“Hearths injuries will most certainly need dressing and those arrows will definitely need to come out, but nothing there is immediately life threatening. However, if your eye swells shut you'll be next to useless in any coming engagements,” Uka said as she advanced to get a better look at the purplish eye in question.   
Hearth seemed to agree and stopped licking his wounds to poke his snout into Uka's examination of Tel. His second opinion was relegated to watching after a stern look from Uka when his probing snout and occasional lick got in her way one too many times. Uka concluded her examination with the highly precise and medically advanced poke test. She poked Tel right in the split on his brow and when he flinched and grunted with pain she confirmed it as the problem.  
“Well, Hearths saliva has stemmed the bleeding and, I suspect, prevented infection. However it still needs to be stitched and we’ll need magic to prevent it swelling,” she said as she put her words into action.

A few minutes later Tel had to admit that his face did feel much better. He resisted the urge to scratch at the itching stitches, despite the fact they itched as only a magically healed wound could. Hearth sniffing at it and puffing warm air on it wasn't helping either.  
“Feeling better?” Shalelu asked Tel while Uka packed her medical supplies back into her hat.  
“Yeah, much,” said Tel, standing up from the goblins throne.  
“You two fight well together,” Shalelu continued, looking up to Hearth as she pulled out the last of the arrows, “I see Ameiko's secondhand rumours are true.”  
“Rumours?” Tel asked nervously.  
“Of Hearths savagery. Ameiko had told me the sheriff didn't trust Hearth because he'd seen him in action durning the raid. Having seen him just now I know it to be true,” Shalelu said, still staring at Hearth.  
“You think he can't be trusted?” Tel asked warily, subconsciously moving towards Hearth.  
“Quite the opposite, I can think of no more stalwart and trustworthy warrior to fight alongside. Certainly none so brutally effective,” she continued, shifting her gaze to Tel and leaving Hearth basking in the compliment.

“That's enough of that, if Hearth puffs up any further we’ll never get him into the tunnels,” Uka snapped as she stood up from packing her hat.  
Tel, Hearth and Shalelu all looked at her.  
“Good. Now that I have your attention let us get moving. Tel retrieve your sword, and we'll proceed,” Uka commanded.  
“Uhh,” Tel mumbled as he looked around through the ruins of the fight for his sword.  
He caught himself for a moment as his eye passed over a disembowelled goblin. It was an ugly scene in the room, blood and mangled bodies littering the floor with the charnel stench to match, but he didn't even really notice. He sighed internally in disappointment at himself but just resumed the search for his sword. He could worry about such things another time.   
“There it is,” said Shalelu, pointing.  
Tel followed her indicated direction with his eyes but still couldn't spot it. He began to slowly move towards where she was pointing.  
“Just there, beneath the leg,” she clarified as he drew closer.  
He spotted it at last. Some goblin had inconsiderately had its leg torn off by Hearth and left it lying on top of his sword. As he rolled the limb aside with his foot and returned his sword to its scabbard it occurred to him that he wasn't the only one in the room inured to the horror of violence.

“Excellent. Now, while I was flanking our foes to get the goblins priest I located what must be the way down. There is a large trapdoor in the back left of the room, which I believe leads to the tunnels where Nualia hides,” Uka stated, walking briskly off toward it.  
Tel turned to look at Hearth just in time to catch another tail wriggle. Not wanting to keep his friend waiting Tel jogged over to Uka to catch up, and Hearth bounded along happily after him. Shalelu didn't so much follow as appear next to them at the trap door, moving with her usual silent speed.   
“Happy to go in my friend? It's going to get tight again,” Tel said looking at the outline of the trapdoor.  
Hearth snorted, then warbled happily.  
“Same plan as last time?” Shalelu asked with a smile and knocked an arrow.  
Uka pursed her lips.  
“Yes, well, I suppose as long as Hearth doesn't mind we sh-” was as far as Uka got.  
Hearth reared up and stomped the wooden floor, exploding through it and disappearing up to his waist. The rest of the party looked in after him, Tel hesitating only long enough to pick a path before following Hearth in. They were on a staircase leading down into the rock, the walls and roof that same strangely perfect 10 by 10 foot as Choppers Isle. Ahead was a landing where the stairs turned 180 degrees and doubled back on themselves before disappearing out of sight.

“Why does evil always insist on such gloomy lairs?” Shalelu muttered as she stepped down the first of many.  
She subconsciously hunched her shoulders against the oppressive stonework and tightened her grip on her bow. She was an elf, a creature of the wild forest, and these dank tunnels made her uneasy.   
“Evil has nothing to do with the gloom, it lives in the heart,” Uka stated calmly as she lowered herself into the stairwell on tentacles of hair.  
Tel too was uneasy as they reached the landing and began the next leg of their descent. He blinked his eyes for the hundredth time but the itching around his eyeball refused to subside, so he settled for a lopsided squint. The stairs soon levelled out into a large room, well lit by lanterns on the walls, and the party advanced cautiously, keen not to alert their foes to their presence; though that seemed unlikely after Hearths entrance. Despite this their progress down the last few stairs went unchallenged and as they set foot into the room signs that it was being lived in where plentiful. The four walls of the room all sported at least one door in far better repair than the goblin dwellings above and outside each was a pile of dirty dishes. The party's silence was filled with a rhythmic thumping, frequent grunting, and the occasional gasp or cry of ecstasy. The sound was coming from the right, but precisely which door the noises were coming from was impossible to tell.

“Keep it down!” yelled a female voice from behind another door.  
In response the grunting only escalated in volume. Tel had no idea what the plan was, so he turned to look at Uka and Shalelu for guidance. Uka's face was impassive as ever, while Shalelu seemed put off even more by the awkward addition of a soundtrack to her hatred of the subterranean. Tel shrugged at them and opened his hands in what he hoped was a questioning manner. Uka motioned for them all to move in close and once they were gathered around outlined her thoughts.  
“We don't have any idea of potential enemy numbers behind these doors, though I'd say we have at least three, unless our copulating foe is actually skilled ventriloquist masturbating,” Uka whispered.  
Tel fought the urge to laugh at the ridiculous notion, but quickly stifled it with the thought of an army behind any of the doors.  
“Perhaps we quietly go door to door?” Shalelu said quietly, her voice remaining crystal clear despite its volume sitting right on the edge of audible.

Uka considered that plan. It was a sound one, and one that gave them the most opportunity to avoid a potential fight against everyone down here at once. It also offered a non-violent solution should one present itself. Even if they did raise the alarm and it did devolve into an all-out brawl anything they achieved before that happened was a bonus. One thing that did concern her a little was Hearth, as if they were severely outnumbered the likelihood of either Tel or Hearth deciding to use dragonfire was almost 100%. She'd been in a tunnel with a hastily deployed torrent of the stuff before and had no desire to get caught in Hearths way. She turned back to Shalelu with a decision.  
“Yes. Tel, you and I shall go door to door while Hearth watches the other doors for foes. How does that sound?” she whispered, taking care to include Hearth as she looked from face to face for approval.  
When everyone nodded she moved over to the door the angry woman's voice had come from. If the yeller was unhappy they were the most likely to offer a nonviolent outcome, being least inclined to die for the cause. She inspected the hinges and was pleased to note that they were well oiled, thus unlikely to squeak, so she slipped tendrils of hair under the door to take its weight, another into the latch to swing it gently free, and then she slowly opened it.

Tel watched the door open and felt anticipation grow in his gut. He glanced over his shoulder to where Hearth was watching their backs and noticed that the dragon too was glancing back at his friend. It made them both nervous to be apart in a fight, even if it was only a few feet and 180 degrees. Tel smiled and waved, and Hearth nodded his great head, before Tel turned back to the slowly opening door. As it opened it revealed a small room, lit by candles on the wall and on the scroll-and-artifact-covered desk, behind the desk sat a woman with dark skin, a slender build and hair tightly braided into cornrows. She wore a loose-fitting robe, slashed so high up the sides that it sat between her legs as she leant forward in her seat poring over a particular trinket. She seemed totally oblivious to their presence, then, as the door opened further, it revealed a cat sitting on a bed which arched its back and hissed. The woman looked up from her work, but before her wide eyes could relay their horror to her brain Shalelu shot into the room with elven swiftness, bow drawn back and a killing shot aimed at the scholar. The woman gasped in shock, then clapped a hand over her mouth when Uka quickly followed Shalelu in on a dozen writhing strands of hair, a finger across her lips indicating silence was required for survival. 

The silence dragged tensely, broken only by the carnal noises permeating the air, and once the scholar had calmed her breathing enough to drop the hand from her mouth Uka smiled politely.  
“I don't believe we've been introduced,” Uka said quietly, her hair closing the door behind the invading trio, “my name is Uka, and these are my associates. You will now gather your things in preparation to leave this place permanently, and while you do, you will answer questions.”  
Uka's tone was pleasant, in the same way that pleasant looking snow will still happily freeze a man to death. The stunned expression on the woman's face slowly fell to one of resignation, and as her mood changed the cat lowered its hackles then sauntered over to sit by its masters side.  
“What do you want to know?” the woman asked, reaching down to pet the cat.  
“Your name, for a start,” Uka replied, her eyes roaming around the room.  
As her gaze passed over the bed she extended her hair and lifted the solid wooden frame easily into the air, visually inspected the detritus beneath, then placed it gently back down. The display of strength drew furtive glances from their prisoner.  
“Lyrie,” she said demurely.  
“A pleasure to meet you Lyrie, I suggest you begin packing,” Uka said, smiling as Lyrie moved to gather her things, “Now, it is my understanding that a woman name Nualia is captain of this particular debacle, what was your relationship with her?”  
“She hired me to study the Thassilonian history of this place, but it was strictly academic, I swear,” Lyrie said, avoiding eye contact with the spectre of Uka as she packed her clothes.  
“I shall also require details about your former associates down here,” Uka continued, moving to meddle obnoxiously with the things on the desk.

Shalelu lowered her bow when her arm begun to feel the strain of holding her drawn shot, but she did so reluctantly. She didn't like this Lyrie, there was something about her which gave the impression that she went through life rating everyone by the amount of trouble she'd get into if she murdered them for their stuff. Still, Shalelu had known Uka for years and the witch was an astute judge of character as well as, she had recently learned, a powerful combatant. Tel, on the other hand, hadn't even drawn his sword. He kept looking back at the closed door Hearth was on the other side of.  
“There is five of-”  
“Was. Past tense,” Uka interrupted.  
“There was five of us,” Lyrie amended, “myself, Tsuto, Orik, Nualia, and Bruthazmus.”  
At the mention of the name Bruthazmus Shalelu was overcome by a cold fury. She stepped forward to where Lyrie was crouched and hauled her to her feet by her dress.  
“That bugbear is here?” she snarled quietly, her eyes fixed on Lyries.  
“He is, he's the one that fucks those damn goblin whores nigh constantly,” she said, hands by her side and making no attempt to contest Shalelus rough treatment.  
Shalelu dropped the vile woman and turned to fume at the door. Uka ignored Shalelu and looked at Lyrie like nothing had happened.  
“Do please continue,” she prompted.  
“Tsuto is her lover, Orik and Bruthazmus her bodyguards. They live in rooms like mine, while Nualia spends most of her time below, in the temple of Lamashtu,” Lyrie replied, packing the last of her possessions into her bag.

She stood, picked her cat up under one arm, and peered around the party to stare hopefully at the door. Uka exploded into movement, her hair rushing forward to envelop Lyrie while also filling her mouth to stifle the scream that was only the natural reaction. Uka leaned forward in the wrapping embrace to whisper into Lyries ear.  
“Walk free now Lyrie, but know that you owe your life this day to kindness and mercy, not strength or cunning. Turn from this path, temper whatever vice it was that led you here and change. It will be hard, but assistance I'll provide if you've courage enough to ask. Your vices and strengths are hollow, change or die.”  
Then as quickly as she came, Uka was back to her usual standoff, leaving Lyrie stunned in her wake. Before she could recover Uka stepped aside and extended her hair to open the door. Tel slipped through the second it was opened far enough for him to get out. Lyrie made eye contact with Uka for a moment like a hammer striking an anvil, before averting her gaze and slipping past the fuming Shalelu to hurry out the door. Uka didn't even have time to smile at her bloodless resolution before a bloodcurdling scream cut through the grunts.   
“Crap,” she breathed, she'd forgotten about Hearth.

Tel watched the woman, he hadn't payed attention to her name, nearly drop her cat as panic threatened to overcome her love for it then bolt for the stairs, losing a pair of socks from her bag in her flight. He looked to Hearth who wore a mischievous grin and smiled back at the amused Dragon. But before he could make it half way over to Hearth another door in the room flew open. The door, opposite Lyries room, revealed a tall, athletic man wearing worn-but-serviceable banded armour. His dark hair was cut short atop a ruggedly handsome face and he held a longsword in his right hand and a shield of remarkable quality depicting a stern face in his left. His eyes quickly settled on Hearth and he froze for a moment before fury bent his face into a snarl.  
“You fucking cunts!” he yelled, “you killed her!”  
Before the sound of the words had died in the air a second door in the room opened revealing a heavily muscled humanoid of at least 7 feet in height, its sweaty yellow skin covered in prodigiously thick body hair and its broad face marred by an ugly pug nose and jutting teeth. It wore only an armoured girdle around its waist and a string of pointed elfs ears around its neck while clutching a huge bow and nastily serrated arrows in its paw-like hands.

Uka and Shalelu both peeked out from Lyries room and saw the armoured man, who Uka deduced must be Orik, and the naked bugbear who must be Bruthazmus. There was a perverse calm in the air, despite Oriks hurled curse, like a deep breath preceding a plunge as the two sides in the room prepared to kill one another. Shalelu’s eyes went wide when she saw Bruthazmus and he thrust himself forward grotesquely when he recognised her too, then they both took cover behind their doorframe to draw an arrow. Meanwhile Hearth bounded back to cover Tel while he drew his sword and Orik just stared in pained horror at Lyries sock lying on the ground. Uka just pursed her lips in annoyance. She was annoyed at herself for forgetting the effect Hearth would have on someone who didn’t know him, and now the whole situation was about to go to shit because of it. Had the alarm not been raised Orik might have been caught unawares and sent bloodlessly packing with Lyrie. Who knew, Orik might have eventually won her heart and the pair might have found happiness, however unlikely. Now his likely future was dismemberment by Hearth. Bruthazmus on the other hand would have been put down, Shalelus blade adding blood to the variety of other fluids glistening on his skin. But instead here they were, risking lives and limbs in another chaotic melee, because she forgot.

With a sound like wet snow drowning the mind a howl that emanated from somewhere beyond the mortal ken rose from the depths of the dungeon. Uka felt the urge to run hit her like an avalanche but she fought the effects off, knowing more than most mortals about where such a sound might come from. Glancing around she saw Shalelu was too focussed on Bruthazmus to pay the supernatural terror any heed, while the same was true for the bugbear. Tel and Orik both physically reeled from the assault and dashed for the stairs, Hearth not even hesitating before he bounded off after the fleeing pair. Shit, thought Uka. If Orik fought off the fear before Tel his erroneous rage at the death of Lyrie might have Tel’s head off his shoulders before Hearth could intervene. But if she went after Tel she left Shalelu in a one-on-one with Bruthazmus. Desperately aware that her usual careful analysis would give her time to do neither she made a choice with her gut, spoke a word of power, and moved with supernatural swiftness on a dozen strands of hair after Tel.

Tel screamed at his traitorous legs to stop running and finally, as he made the top of the staircase, they obeyed. He skidded to a halt on the landing and spun to get back to Hearth. Looking back the way he came though all he could see was that armoured guy running as fast as he could up the stairs. After what he’d yelled Tel was going to kill him, he wasn’t going to take a risk of betrayal like Uka had done with that woman. Risking his life with Hearth in combat was enough, he wasn’t going to jeopardise it further by leaving loose ends with murderous grudges. Thankfully the man seemed to be missing his sword, which would make him an easy target, but Tel realised then that he too was missing his sword. He swore and looked past the armoured man down the stairs. He must have dropped it in his initial panic. Before he could come up with a plan B the man seemed to shake off the panic himself and they made awkward eye contact. Tel noticed that the fiery rage from earlier was gone, then the man broke their momentary staring contest suddenly to look at something on the stairs between them. It was a pair of women’s undies.

“She, she’s alive?” Orik said, relief in his voice.  
This had suddenly gotten way too awkward for Tel’s liking. If he’d had his sword he would have taken the opportunity to jump the guy, but something in the back of his mind berated him for thinking that. Trying to ignore the conscience project Sandpoint might be developing he assessed his next move. Trying to fight the man seemed ill advised, as his armour would make him pretty much immune to Tel’s punches, so he scoured his mind for a course of action while Orik took a disbelieving step towards the undies. Despite thinking as hard as he could that pesky voice from before kept interjecting with unhelpful thoughts like ‘what would Ameiko do? Where would you and Hearth be if she stabbed first and asked questions later?’, and ‘Uka knows what she’s on about, and she tried talking and let that lady go’.   
“Her and the cat. We surprised her and let her go,” Tel said, similarly surprised at the words coming out of his mouth.   
Orik looked up at him, then forced himself to regain his composure while his right hand clutched at the air instead of the sword he was hoping to find.  
“Why would you let her go?” Orik asked, an eyebrow raised in scepticism.  
“We let her go, Orik, because we presented Lyrie with an opportunity to avoid an untimely end in service to a cause she was not dedicated to and she chose to leave,” said Uka sternly as she rounded the corner of the stairs a hairs breadth ahead of Hearth.

Orik turned slowly to get a look at the voice behind him and froze when he saw Hearth. Hearth snarled in reply to Oriks stare and advanced, stepping over Uka as he closed the distance.   
“Hearth, wait,” said Tel, taking a cautious step down towards everyone.  
Hearth halted his advance within strike range, then looked up to Tel. Uka had been briefly puzzled by Hearths continued advance in the face of Tel’s request to wait, but she quickly put the pieces together.  
“Orik, for the love of whichever god you grovel before step to the side and let the man pass. Standing between a dragon and his friend is a sure way to get eaten,” she condescendingly berated.  
Orik nodded slightly, held up his right hand passively, then slowly backed towards the wall of the staircase stopping only once his shoulders touched stone. Tel continued his slow descent towards Hearth, taking care to remain as far away from Orik as the tunnel would permit. As soon as Tel was back with arms reach Hearth dropped the snarl and relaxed. Tel put his hand on Hearths chest above him to reassure his friend of his presence, then looked to Uka who huffed at the situation.  
“Orik, I suggest you wait in the goblins keep for us to finish here, we will discuss this further later, but for now we have a problem to solve. It’s that or get eaten. Choose, now,” Uka demanded.  
Orik nodded and ran.

“Well, that-” was as far as Tel got before Shalelus scream hit their ears.  
Tel paused for a moment then looked up to Hearth and saw that he too remembered their promise to Ameiko. They both also knew Hearth was unable to turn around on the stairwell and would have to go down backwards. Hearths eyes filled with a thousand warring emotions. His desire to make good his promise to Ameiko, his frustration at being unable to speed to Shalelus rescue, and his regret over pain this might be causing Tel. Tel smiled up at his friend, then ducked beneath his belly, tagging Hearths legs as he went, and ran down the stairs. He didn’t like his chances against Bruthazmus, and he had no desire to end up with one of those arrows stuck in his chest, but he needn’t charge in like some foolish knight. All he needed to do was buy time. As he neared the bottom of the stairs he didn’t slow his pace and turned hard right as soon as he came into the main room. As he’d hoped the door to Lyries room was still open and he sprinted towards it as fast as he could. He risked a glance at the rest of the room as he ran and saw Shalelu writhing on the ground with an arrow in her chest while Bruthazmus advanced on her leering evilly.   
“Yer goons re still runnin like the bitches they are, still jumpin at a little dog howlin,” he drawled as Tel went past, “ain’t no one comin to save ya.”  
Bruthazmus pulled an elven arrow from his cheek, tugging it free from where it was embedded in his cheekbone, with one hand while he drew a knife with his other.  
“Gonna make a fine addition ta my collection,” he taunted.

Tel grabbed the thick candle off Lyries desk, wincing in pain as the hot wax running down its side burned his fingers. It was hardly a deadly weapon, but with the amount of skin Bruthazmus was showing it was sure to be an unpleasant one. He covered the distance to the doorway in two strides and threw the candle at Bruthazmus with all his strength. To his credit the bugbear was swift, and he managed to get an arm up to block it before it struck his chest. Unfortunately for him however, all he achieved was creating a spray of molten wax droplets all heading in his direction. Several struck him in the face, many more landed on his chest an arms, and a few landed places more unpleasant still. He screamed in pain clutching his face and wiping fervently at his crotch, then blinked his eyes open; recovering enough to glare at Tel with undiluted hatred.   
“I’ll peel you slow for that, cunt!” he roared and charged, knife in hand.  
Tel ran for the stairs, Bruthazmus hot on his heels. If he could reach Hearth, even the back of him, the bugbears knife would prove woefully inadequate for the fight he would find there. Tel extended an arm to grab the corner as he approached the bend around which the stairs waited, but nearly tripped over Hearths tail as he entered the room backwards. Tel threw a hand forward onto Hearths back leg to stop himself, then got collected from behind by Bruthazmus. The bugbear was strong Tel realised as he was wrestled to the ground in a matter of moments and suddenly his mind once again tumbled back into the bloody sands of the arena. 

He froze. Bruthazmus straddled him and smashed his head back into the floor with a crushing strong grip on his throat. Tel wanted to cry. He flailed ineffectually against the bugbears might as Bruthazmus drew back his knife to plunge into his throat.   
“No,” Tel mouthed feebly.  
No. He didn’t want it to end here, like this. But yet, here he was again, where what he wanted was about to be violently taken from him by some murderous thug. His mind was too scrambled to for him to berate himself for letting it come to this, so he let the tears welling in his eyes carry his regrets instead. Then something black flashed across his blurring vision and the knife never fell. Tel blinked, his mind sharp enough to run with this new development. Bruthazmus hand was missing at the wrist and blood was seeping from the stump. The bugbear looked in stunned silence at its missing appendage then disappeared down to the shoulders into Hearths mouth. Tel scrabbled backwards as Hearth lifted Bruthazmus off him, gasping for air and clutching at his throat as he sat up against the wall. In the background he could see Uka tending to Shalelu but his gaze quickly returned to Hearth. To Tel’s surprise Hearth dropped Bruthazmus on his back and briefly Tel wondered if he was planning to try the talking approach with the bugbear. 

Instead Hearth put his paw gently on Bruthazmus crotch, pinning him in place, then slowly crushed his pelvis while he screamed in pain. Bruthazmus bashed his stump against Hearths paw and kicked his useless legs in odd directions while he howled in agony. Hearth brought his head down to look the bugbear in the eye at point blank, then slowly curled his claws into his guts one at a time, like a human drumming their fingers. Bruthazmus eyes went wide in pain and terror but he made no sound other than a pitiful gurgling. Hearth growled, low and full of malice, before releasing his pinned captive. He watched Bruthazmus spasm and blink as what was left of him struggled to take in the ruin of his body, then gently bit onto one of his shins and threw him across the room. The bugbear spun as he flew, entrails spilling from his rent abdomen, before he landed with a squelch and began a whimpering crawl back towards his room. Tel pulled himself to his feet and went to Hearths side.  
“I’m ok my friend, thank you,” he said, reaching up to touch Hearths cheek.  
Hearths tensed muscles relaxed at the words and he turned his great head to look at Tel. He rooed affectionately and hugged the man to his leg with his chin.

Uka finished pushing the tip of the barbed arrow through Shalelus shoulder and pursed her lips to stifle a nervous sigh. Seeing the incredible cruelty Hearth was capable of was a sobering reminder that the dragon wasn’t always a happy-go-lucky rascal. It was likely a release for fear however, Uka surmised, brought on by nearly losing Tel. The pain inflicted on Bruthazmus was retaliation for the fright he’d given the dragon. Still, Uka had to admit that it bore remembering what Hearth was capable of, even though she intended to hide that very fact from the people of Sandpoint. She brought her mind back to the task at hand and regarded the bloody mess of Shalelus chest. The ranger had been lucky, she thought as she inspected the wound for any bits of chainmail that might be polluting it, the hit had been on the right hand side. The arrow had struck the top of her right breast and despite puncturing the lung the wound wasn’t sucking air into the chest cavity, making her doubly lucky. Blood loss and infection were the enemy now. Uka pursed her lips again. She didn’t have the time to properly clean and stitch the wound, but she also didn’t want to use valuable magic on a wound that wasn’t going to be immediately fatal. Suddenly her hair was blown into her face from behind by Hearth sniffing.

“How is it?” asked Tel to whoever felt like answering.  
Shalelu just gave him a look of stoic endurance, but said nothing through her jaw clenched against the pain. Uka looked up from her work to regard him.  
“It’s serious, but not immediately life threatening, so she should be ok. However the wound needs treatment we don’t really have time to give it,” she said, hoping to lead Tel’s train of thought.  
“Hearth?” Tel asked, looking to the nosy dragon.   
Hearth needed no encouragement and licked Shalelu with an incredibly slobbery tongue, soaking her shirt and matting her hair. She winced as she held herself upright against the lick, her grimace sliding into a pained smile as Hearth pulled back to see her reaction. Uka looked around then turned back to Shalelu.  
“We need to get you to lay on your side, and I believe Lyries bed will be the most comfortable way to achieve that,” she said.  
Shalelu nodded, drew a breath, gritted her teeth, and pushed herself to standing. Uka’s eyes went wide.   
“My gods Shalelu,” she said in surprise, then quickly steadied her with strands of hair.  
“Uh?” she asked, taking another step towards the bed.  
“I intended to carry you,” Uka said, regaining command of her tone.  
“I can walk,” Shalelu ground out as she continued.  
She made her way to the bed, Uka hovering close by, and gingerly lowered herself in.  
“I’ll be fine, you two go get Nualia,” she said, biting the bullet and making an adjustment to her position despite the pain.   
“We’ll be back for you shortly,” Uka said, uncharacteristic care in her tone, “we wouldn’t have gotten this far without you.”  
Shalelu smiled but said nothing more, and Uka was pleased to note that the smile didn’t disappear from her face when she turned to leave. Once she was out the door she made her way over to Tel and Hearth, eager to get this over with. She joined them just as Tel retrieved his sword.

“You both ready to get going?” she asked.  
Tel and Hearth looked at each other. Tel was disappointed to see Hearths earlier enthusiasm dampened, and he had to admit that he too was feeling pretty rattled. Worse was the fact that as the rattle began to clear he found his survivors urge to run resurfacing as his dominant train of thought. But he couldn’t fail Project Sandpoint here.   
“This is what risking our lives does Hearth,” he said for both their benefits, “but when it comes down to the wire we’ve got each other’s backs. We both chose to come here, we’re fighting for somewhere we might one day call home, and we’re here, together.”  
Hearths pained eyes slowly brightened, then he nodded emphatically and nuzzled Tel again. Uka watched on and was interested to note that for once Tel seemed to be helping Hearth leap a mental hurdle, but she needed them to hurry up about it.  
“I’m sorry you two, I am, but we need to keep moving,” she said, disjointing her kind words with a clipped tone.  
Hearth gave Tel one last bump with his snout, and Tel gave him one last cheek rub, then they turned to Uka. 

“Ready when you are,” Tel said.  
He pushed a grin onto his face to hide the warring ideals doing battle behind his eyes. Then, with stoic precision, he walked towards the door he assumed was the way down. As he reached the door he realised he didn’t know for sure this was the way down, it might be a broom cupboard for all he knew, but it was much bigger than the others so he figured it to be a safe bet. He turned the huge latch and was relieved when it swung out easily, revealing another staircase descending into the rock. The torches on the walls were mostly unlit, permitting the gloom to flood the tunnel, which lent the place a sense of foreboding. Tel looked over his shoulder to Hearth and Uka for reassurance before stepping through the doorway and onto the top step. He paused for a moment and Uka slipped past him and into the darkness, the shadows welcoming her back to the fold, then Hearth squeezed his mighty shoulders through after them. Tel went down another few steps to make way for Hearth, then the pair moved off after Uka. Or at least where Tel thought Uka had gone.

The staircase was similar to the first they had come down, with the stairs descending a way then doubling back on themselves at a landing before continuing their descent. It was cooler down here, and the insufficient torches in the walls made the going slow, allowing the cold to seep in. Tel was grateful for the warmth of Hearth at his back and he clutched his sword tightly in anticipation despite the numbness in his fingers. When at last they came to the closed door that marked the end of the stairs Tel felt like he’d spent a night in the snow instead of 5 minutes climbing down poorly lit stairs. Still, he clasped the latch in preparation to face this final hurdle, but the strange finality of the situation stopped him from turning it right away. He looked back to Hearth then nodded to himself. He could mentally gnaw on whether or not to stay in Sandpoint and what either of those eventualities meant at a later date. For now, he had a cultist to kill.

He opened the door to reveal a chamber nearly 100 feet long, at least 30 wide and the same again tall. Dominating the near end was a fire pit, a bed of coals stretching 20 feet in length and studded with the disintegrating bone fragments of those unfortunates sacrificed to it, thin wisps of flame reaching up from its depths to claw at them. It shed light enough to reveal the walls and ceiling, casting dancing shadows over the carved scenes of slaughter interwoven with scenes of childbirth. The far end of the room was rounded and sported a domed roof from where stared down a carving of Lamashtu, the Mother of Monsters. The walls and roof were supported by columns, each stylised as a woman birthing an abomination. Looking over the fire to the far end of the room Tel could see a humanoid figure with a trio of hounds the size of ponies. 

The hounds mouths glowed with the hellfire bubbling from their throats and their skin was almost scaly where it showed amongst tufted fur. They moved with power and grace, but stayed close to their master. The woman who could only be Nualia stood casually behind them with a longsword in her right hand, slung easily over one shoulder, and her other hand ending in a clawed, demonic hand. She wore black plate armour with its belly section missing, revealing a mass of scars on her abdomen. Her face was beautiful, features soft and perfect, and her hair a cascade of silver. She smiled warmly at Tel and Hearth as they advanced cautiously to the other end of the fire pit.  
“Welcome Tel, and mighty Hearth,” she said, her voice as entrancingly beautiful as her countenance.   
Tel was struck by her beauty, and she seemed to want to talk, so he lowered his sword just a little.  
“I fear you have been lead here by interests other than your own,” she said, laying a calming hand on the head of one of her hounds, “perhaps I might have something you are truly interested in?”  
Tel wasn’t convinced. But talking wasn’t fighting, and so posed less of a risk.  
“You two don’t belong in a dreary warren like Sandpoint, leave it behind and enjoy your power, your freedom. And if you get lonely, you’re always welcome to share my company; I promise it’s more fulfilling than the drudgery you’re used to,” she said, running her tongue around the corner of her mouth.

Uka wanted to hit her head on the wall. Men. For the love of the gods. What were those two thinking? She had a demonic claw for a left hand, and her attempts at seduction were aimed more at Hearth than Tel which made her a totally new level of messed up. Uka frowned to herself from her concealment in the gloom behind a pillar. Tel was pretty messed up too, she supposed. As a matter of fact both of them were probably just products of a suboptimal past they were unfairly put through. In fairness to Nualia Hearth had probably killed more innocents than her goblins Uka realised, and yet here she was using one broken person to kill another. She’d manipulated one into furthering her ends, into killing the one that didn’t suit her designs. Uka looked at Nualia and wanted to help her, to fix her, to pour effort into her until she was happy again. But she also knew that was a lie. The beautiful woman was too far gone. In the same way that it was a waste of bandages to try to save someone who was going to die anyway, if Uka put in the time it would take to fix Nualia she’d have time for little else. So here they were, making the pragmatic choice. She took no pleasure in what had to be done here, but it did have to be done.

Tel maintained his cautious advance, with his weapon held at a low ready out to one side, and eyed Nualia suspiciously. He didn’t really believe a word she said, but it was beginning to sow tiny seeds of doubt in his mind. Was he really here of his own accord? He looked to Hearth who was nonchalantly following through the fire pit, the coals crunching under his tread. The dragon gave him a quizzical look in return. Tel stopped, then scrunched one side of his face in frustration and turned back to Nualia.  
“Why don’t you just leave?” he asked.  
“Why don’t you?”she retorted.  
“What? Well, I want to, maybe, stay. In Sandpoint. And you’re fucking it up,” he said.  
He lowered his sword to his side. He was still far enough away that he’d have plenty of notice if she attacked.  
“Why would you want to stay?” she asked, returning to nurture her earlier seed of doubt.  
“Like I’d tell you.”  
“Could it be that you don’t really know? Perhaps you’ve been used,” Nualia said, letting the question hang.  
Tel eyed her closely. He was getting sick of this word play, and he had no interest in introspection and doubt at this point. Now that he was closer he was pretty sure she didn’t pose that much of a threat, and the hounds wouldn’t stand a chance against Hearth, but there was still danger there. Danger standing in the way of project Sandpoint. Tel looked back to Hearth and winked at him, then jumped back. 

Uka was about ready to slap Tel. She’d thought he was smart enough to not get so easily dissuaded from his goal. Her speech hadn’t been nearly enough to actually plant sufficient doubts to persuade Tel and Hearth to switch sides, and surely he wasn’t seduced that easily. Then right when she’d thought him an absolute imbecile he’d shattered the standoff by jumping backwards. Hearth had immediately covered him with a wing and drawn in a breath before the heat preceding dragonfire began to roll over the room. Uka watched as Nualia threw out her claw in a futile attempt at defence, while the three hounds charged. Then there was a mighty roar and all four disappeared in the billowing torrent of flame.

Tel’s breath felt uncomfortable in his chest as he drew it, the heat making the air feel like sand, while the wing at his back radiated enough heat to make his skin prickle. Then the sound of the inferno stopped and Tel felt Hearth relax, so he turned to where Nualia and her hounds had been as Hearth retracted his wing. Expecting little more than ashes he was horrified to see an untouched Nualia and three charred hounds charging in their direction. He felt the sudden tense in Hearth and knew he wasn’t the only one who was expecting ashes. The hounds would be on them in an instant, and Nualia the moment after that, the distance between them closed under the cover of the flames. In the time before contact Tel judged the hounds to pose little threat to a dragon, while the longsword Nualia wielded might deal Hearth a fatal blow. So he braced himself against the charge of the hound coming his way, but instead of attempting to impale it or even block its lunge Tel sidestepped it at the last moment and rushed Nualia. As he advanced Hearth and the hounds slipped from view, but he trusted his friend and dared not take his eyes off the demonic woman.

As she charged she drew back her sword for a horizontal chop and Tel responded with a block from his bracer while planning a stab at her exposed belly. As they met neither slowed their pace and their momentum threw them together like a wave on a cliff. Unfortunately Tel was the wave. Nualias chop had far more force behind it than he’d anticipated, and it carried his blocking bracer along its path and right into the side of his face. The impact was enough to be dazing, and it ruined his thrust, leaving it to glance off her armoured thigh. She twisted herself as they collided, sending Tel staggering past while she whirled and clawed at his shoulder as he passed. He felt the pressure on his armour where her claws dragged across it, but no pain, and he recovered enough of his wits to turn to face her with his guard up. She gave him no time to get comfortable however, and as soon as he had her back in view her blade was swinging down in an overhead arc, while her clawed left hand waited out to her side. Not wanting to risk another sucker punch from that claw Tel ducked in close, forward and left, before her swing could build too much momentum and punched up into her elbow. It had the desired effect in that it stopped her chop, but she quickly responded with a knee to his right hip. The pain was incredible as metal struck flesh and Tel’s leg nearly buckled under the assault. Not giving a moment of respite her claws sunk into his right thigh and she retracted her right arm, not for a swing of her sword but to mash her elbow into Tel’s brow.

Tel had no idea what was going on, only that he was blinded, disoriented, and in pain, so he swung his sword at the pain in his leg. He aimed what he thought was roughly midway between himself and Nualia and hoped for the best. When he felt resistance, but no pain, he was pretty sure he’d chopped into her and not himself. A moment later her scream confirmed this. Seizing his chance he pulled his left hand in between them and pushed off her chest with all the strength he had left in the hopes of making some space. They both staggered back from the shove, and Tel risked using his left hand to try to wipe the blood from his eyes. His head throbbed in pain and his right leg refused to do its job as he dragged his fingers over his eyes then opened them to a vicious stinging and, thankfully, vision. He could see Nualias left leg and snapped his head up to bring her fully into view. She was missing her demonic claw, only the red scales on what was left of her forearm remained to betray it ever having existed. She seemed pretty preoccupied with the freely-bleeding stump, so he took a moment to catch his breath- though he dared not look down at his leg. He spared Hearth a glance and saw him biting the head off one of the hounds as the other sunk its fangs into his neck. Tel spotted the third hound fighting a losing battle with Uka as they rolled about on the floor, hair holding its mouth closed like a muzzle while it gouged out its eyes. 

Tel dragged his eyes back to Nualia who was rapidly recovering from her fascination and turning a furious gaze his way. She took a step forward, a slight unsteadiness in her advance, then roared and made another brutal chop for Tel’s neck. Knowing he didn’t have the strength for a straight block he angled his bracer against his ear, hoping to deflect the blow up over his head, however when he stepped to get into position his right leg just collapsed. He staggered forward and his deflection was only partially successful. He felt her blade slide around his bracer, instead of along its length, and a line of hot pain shot across the back of his scalp. His right leg continued its collapse and he found himself up against Nualia sliding down her armour. Dreadfully aware of how vulnerable he was hugging her waist he knew he needed to land a hit. Anything. His vision of his sword blocked by her body he angled the point down towards her knee and stabbed blindly. His aim was a little high, and his sword scraped down metal before sinking into the back of her knee and down into her calf. 

It was her turn to collapse, which she rudely did on top of Tel, leaving them pointing in opposite directions stacked torso to torso. Nualia wasted no time trying trying to return the favour, but her longer bade was hard to bring to bear on the wildly thrashing Tel. He was starting to break free as Nualia had only one hand remaining which she was using to smash the pommel of her sword into the mangled claw wound on Tel’s thigh. Eventually, kicking with his good leg and scrabbling with his elbows, Tel managed to roll free of the grapple. He put in a few extra rolls to get plenty of space, and was glad he had when he heard her sword strike the stone floor. He stopped his roll and looked back towards Nualia. She looked woozy from blood loss as she dragged herself across the stone towards him with her stump. 

“You, and that fucking witch, you’re not even from here!” she yelled.  
Tel just backed away as best he could.  
“Come here and fight, fucking coward!”  
She lunged, pushing off with her good leg, and chopped down at his wounded leg. Tel tried to dodge, but he was too slow, and she chopped a huge flap into the inside of his calf.  
“I’ll fucking feed you to the Mother of Monsters you meddling little worm! A dragon deserves better!”  
Tel didn’t have the mental space left to be insulted, he just kept trying to back up. He was getting weaker, and his body felt a long way away, but he kept fighting and screaming mental orders at his limbs. He was dimly aware that his plan to buy Hearth time was working, he just didn’t want to die doing it. She jumped at him again, arm cocked back for another strike, and he knew he didn’t have time to get away. All he could hope for was that Uka could get to him before he died of his injuries. He felt his head bang into the wall behind him. He’d run out of time. In a last act of defiance he threw his sword at her. It was a weak throw but the guard struck her in the face, ruining her swing. She snarled, pushed herself closer still, and readied another, final, chop.

She brought the blade down overhead and Tel kicked his foot up to meet it. If he was doomed he was going to buy all the time he could. Every second that passed she lost blood, blood she wouldn’t have to fight Hearth with. Her sword bit through the heel of his boot, through his foot and lodged in his heel. He felt the impact shoot down his leg, but all the pain in his body was blurring together and he didn’t feel the gash in his foot.   
“You… you, you cunt!” she spat, as she struggled to yank the weapon free.  
Tel felt her wobble his leg to and fro, and he was trying to fight it but his leg wasn’t responding. Finally she got the weapon free, but something loomed over her as she did. Tel smiled. His heart sang as he looked upon Hearth, bloodied but unbowed, and tears welled in his eyes. He reached a hand up towards his friend as the light in the room was reduced to a swimming blur. There was a flash of movement and Nualia was thrown away from him, then he felt the warmth of Hearths nose in his hand, and the heat in his breath as it washed over him. Somehow, despite the pain and the weariness, this was all he needed to be happy. He exhaled an easy sigh, and he felt Hearth nuzzle his face. He summoned every ounce of strength he had left and focussed it on staying awake. He was not going to die. He’d been here once before, bleeding out with Hearth by his side, but last time there was the sand below him and the cheering crowd. This time there was warm stone and strange chanting.

Suddenly the chanting stopped, then the world exploded back into focus. Everything came blasting back into his reality, including the incredible searing pain of his injuries, and in wide-eyed shock he desperately clutched at Hearths face. He coughed and choked as the movement aggravated his injuries, then spasmed again when that too shot him with pain. With iron will he forced himself still, and drew myriad clipped breaths as he rolled himself onto his good hip.  
“You’ll live, though I’m afraid the pain is part of life,” said Uka from somewhere nearby.  
“Unngh,” was all he could manage.  
“Lacerated right calf, lacerated right thigh, smashed right hip, smashed left brow, lacerated scalp… and lacerated left heel. You, Tel, certainly die hard,” Uka said with a hint of approval in her voice.  
“Huhngh,” Tel groaned, wincing when the attempt at speech aggravated everything.  
Hearth pushed his nose in as close as he dared, licking Tel’s brow injury as gently as he could.  
“I, hnrg, I, I’m ok Hearth,” he wheezed.  
He gingerly pulled himself up to sit on his left butt-cheek and looked up at Hearth. He looked terrible. He was bleeding even more than before, mostly from a series of deep bites on his neck and armpits.   
“One of the hounds tried to go to Nualias aid, and Hearth took the hits from the other two when he went after it,” Uka explained as she moved over to stand at Tel’s side, “I did my best to pull them off him”  
“Thanks Hearth, knew you had my back,” Tel said holding his friend’s chin, “and thank you too Uka.”  
“That is quite all right Tel, I will always endeavour to pull my weight in a fight. But I, as well as all of Sandpoint, owes the two of you a most profound thanks as well,” Uka announced.

Tel didn’t know what to say, and the pain made thinking impossible so he sat in silence. He dared not take his hands off Hearths face, for fear that if he did he might slip beneath that strange sea he’d been drowning in a moment ago. He slowly turned to try to see what had become of Nualia, his hip complaining bitterly for every degree of rotation, and spotted her body nearby. She was lying face down, her beautiful features smashed to red ruin, and her lifeless eye was staring accusingly at him from where it hung in the remains of its socket.  
“What a damn waste,” Uka said quietly when she followed Tel’s gaze.  
Tel didn’t care. He had Hearth.  
“Well, I suppose we’re done here,” Uka said collecting Tel’s sword with a strand of hair, “can you move?”  
Tel rolled himself onto his hands and left knee despite the pain crippling his right leg. He looked up at Hearth and realised that sitting on his neck would likely be agony.   
“Might I suggest side saddle?” Uka asked, offering a helping hand of hair.  
Hearth dropped his chest to the ground and laid his neck low enough for Tel, with Uka’s assistance, to climb on sidesaddle. He gingerly adjusted his position and held on tightly to Hearths horns to minimise movement as the dragon gently lifted his head back into the air. The roof in the tunnel was too low for Hearth to move normally with Tel riding, but he made his stooped waddle without complaint, and cooed every time Tel grunted in pain.

“I’ll pick up Shalelu on the way to the surface, then once we’re there I’ll collect that Orik fellow. I’m not in the mood for a talk at the moment, but I’m assuming he’s still in no hurry to die. Then if you, Hearth, still think you’re strong enough to carry that horse I’ll sedate it and you can take it back to Sandpoint. Meanwhile I’ll get Orik back to the mainland, from where he can find his own way back to town, and I’ll take Shalelu myself. Then we’ll rendezvous at the Rusty Dragon and I’ll see to everyone’s injuries,” Uka said as they left the room and headed upstairs.

######

Tel stared intently at the rafters of the kitchen while imagining a particularly hairy ogre dancing wearing only minimal clothing. At least Ameiko wasn’t here this time, he thought as Uka’s head popped back into view.   
“Don’t worry Tel, I’ll make sure she doesn’t chop off anything she’s not supposed to,” Bethana said happily from somewhere closer than she needed to be.  
Tel winced as Uka pulled the stitches in his thigh tight. Once again he found himself naked and afraid, with Uka fixing up his wounds. Chain mail shorts, surely those were a thing? He resolved to get some once this was over to prevent another repeat of this awkward circumstance. He looked over to Hearth where he was, as usual, up to his shoulders into the kitchen. His wounds were already healing well, thanks to Uka neatening, cleaning, and stitching them, and she’d predicted that Hearth would be right as rain come morning. The dragon met his gaze and warbled sympathetically, drawing a beleaguered smile from Tel. The spell Uka had used to seal his injuries had done little for the pain, and the ride back had been agony. It would have been over quicker if Hearth hadn’t insisted he was strong enough to take that damn horse, but the dragon would never miss an opportunity to showboat, and now it was stabled just out back. 

Tel fought the urge to cry out as Uka prodded the loose flap of flesh Nualia had carved off his calf. He’d lost enough blood that Uka had forbade him from drinking for the pain, which left him to experience every prod, stitch, and wound rinse. He closed his eyes against what he knew was coming and screamed through gritted teeth as Uka cleaned the wound with alcohol. His breath returned in desperately short gasps as the pain flooded his existence. Hearth cooed supportively from nearby and Tel’s breathing slowed at the thought of his friend. He had to admit he was jealous of Hearths pain tolerance. He’d only flinched slightly as Uka chopped away ragged ends in wounds and cut whole hounds teeth out of his skin. Tel opened his eyes when he felt the first of the stitches going in. They paled to insignificance after that rinse, so he took the opportunity to feel sorry for himself. For the person who had least wanted to go on that little adventure he seemed to be the most beaten up. Even Shalelu managed to get away with a single injury that came with a manly-looking chest wrap of bandages as a consolation. He couldn’t walk, stand properly, or even lie on his right side. Also he was somehow missing pants again.

Hearth warbled and Tel heard the timbers creak as he tried to push in further to be closer. Tel turned and gave Hearth another smile which was cut short by a wince as another stitch went in. But, truth be told, he’d do it all again for the look in those draconic eyes. There was pain there, and concern, but also excitement and elation. Project Sandpoint was a go. They’d come to this town to sell jewellery at some festival, they’d been a part of repelling a goblin raid, and they’d been accepted into the community for it. They’d since found a way of life that allowed for more than just survival, they’d met people they might one day call friends, and they’d defended both. But most of all, Hearth seemed happy, and that made Tel happy. 

Suddenly Uka was poking him in the face, so he returned his gaze to the ceiling.  
“Your brow is split pretty badly, I’m afraid,” she said opening the wound.  
Pain blasted Tel’s mind and blood filled his eye. He grunted.  
“Going to have to get those hairs out of there,” she continued, pouring liquid fire into the wound.  
Tel winced against the burning in his brow and the sting as the liquid mixed with the blood in his eye. He reached up to rub his eye, but his hand was sternly slapped for its temerity.  
“Do hold still Tel,” Uka snapped.  
With his one good eye Tel watched Uka lean in close with her curved needle and thread, then closed it when she went to work. Two stitches later she gently touched his shoulder.  
“All done Tel. You did very well,” she said kindly, then moved off towards the sink with her bowl of bloody linen.  
Tel gently wiped the blood from his eye, taking care not to disturb his stitches, and arranged his head and neck so he could see what was going on. Uka was at the sink, thoroughly covered in dragon, elf and human blood, and Bethana was on her way back in from the common room with an empty platter.

“Hope you’re gonna help me scrub all your blood out of that table,” Bethana said as she entered, smiling ear to ear.  
“He will be doing no such thing. His stitches took a lot of work, and I’ll be damned if I’m redoing them,” Uka huffed from the sink.  
Bethana laughed, then put her platter near the sink and moved in close.  
“How’re you doing Tel?” she asked.  
“Felt better.”  
“Looks like you took a few hits,” she said, looking over his injuries.  
“He fought off Nualia long enough for Hearth to kill everything else, and weakened her enough that she was an easy mark once Hearth got to her,” Uka stated without looking up.  
Bethana looked from Uka back to Tel, who tried to shrug.   
“I want you to know Tel, and you too Hearth, how grateful I am. You stopped the maniac and you got everyone home alive,” Beth said, then wrapped Tel in a hug.  
“It was mostly Hearth,” he said to the hair in his face.  
She pushed herself back off him and smiled, before moving over to Hearth. Hearth snorted a cloud of smoke over her, but she braved it and wrapped Hearths snout in a hug too.  
“Bless you, you giant, troublesome snake,” she said, “bless you.”

Tel was getting increasingly self conscious, so with a grunt he rolled himself onto his left butt cheek and pushed himself to sitting. Looking around for something, anything, that would lend some modesty he frowned when he saw his hacked trousers on the floor.   
“None of that, not with that leg,” Uka scolded, turning from her sink.  
Tel wondered if she had eyes in the back of her head, or telepathy maybe.  
“You will be wearing loose gowns until that has healed,” she continued, gesturing at his thigh with the cloth she was using to dry her hands.  
Tel looked down and frowned.  
“You’re lucky she didn’t get ya any higher up, might’ve needed a special sling,” Bethana chimed in, supplying the necessary hand puppetry.  
Tel just sighed. He torturously got himself to the edge of the table and gingerly tested his weight on his left toe. His heel ached in protest, and his head swam, but he could deal with it. He dared not hop, but he only needed to flop forward enough to make it to Hearths head. From there nothing else mattered. Before he could think better of it, he committed. Hearth caught his fall and carried Tel out to their hayshed with the man draped across his snout. Once there they wasted no time getting comfy and an exhausted Tel promptly fell asleep despite the pain of his injuries.

Uka wrung the bloody handcloth onto the ground outside the inns back door and looked over to the mass of black scales crammed into the hayshed. She half smiled to herself as she flicked the last few drops of water from her hands. They’d done it. Tel and Hearth had managed to overcome all the threats to Sandpoint Nualia had raised, and they’d managed to learn a little about themselves as they went. Sure, Shalelu and herself had done their part of the fighting, but they’d never have done it without Tel and Hearth. She smiled again. When she thought about it none of them would have succeeded in isolation, but together they’d triumphed. Now came the luxury of time to berate herself for all the choices she’d made. She thought of all the people she’d manipulated, sometimes in violation of their interest, but always without their consent, and frowned. She thought back to Nualia, to the uncomfortable truth that she’d manipulated one broken person into killing another. Like a dog fighter putting on a show.

In many ways though violence was the simpler moral choice. It was usually one way or the other and free of the million tangled shades of grey her methods entailed. Even so, she preferred her methods, and would choose them again if she had to. She’d kept the most amount of people alive and the most amount of them the most happy. She could do no more than that. But she was tired, and had already wasted enough energy on introspection. She set her face into its usual impasse and headed back inside. She set the dishes to doing themselves when she noticed them piling up on the sink while the overworked Bethana was serving lunch, then considered walking home. Ordinarily she would, but she’d poured out an awful lot of herself during their foray into Thistletop, and magic was like any muscle; use it or lose it. Resolving to practice more as penance for what she was about to do she knocked on Ameiko’s door.

“Come in,” Ameiko said.  
Uka pushed the door open with her hair, her arms suddenly heavy, and smiled. Shalelu was lying in bed next to Ameiko, where she was braiding the young woman’s hair. She’d never say it aloud, but this is exactly why she walked that thin grey line, and why she walked into danger- the beauty of companionship, whatever form it took. Couldn’t let them know that though.  
“I certainly hope neither of you is disturbing your injuries with such frippery,” she scolded.  
Shalelu rolled back onto her back. Ameiko blew a soft sigh.  
“You’ll have far less energy for that if either of you bleeds to death,” Uka said to the sigh.  
“Yes, well, ordinarily I’d return to my hut, but given your conditions and predilection towards foolishness I’d better stay close by,” Uka continued, tired eyes hungrily eyeing the chair.  
“The chair is always yours Uka,” Ameiko said warmly.  
Uka closed the door behind her and moved in on her target.  
“Thankyou,” Uka said.  
She sat herself down slowly, then turned her hat into its sleeping pink before settling into the chairs cushions. She closed her eyes and her breathing evened, then a moment later Ula appeared, despite the closed door, and curled up in Uka’s lap. 

######

The morning light snuck in under Hearths wing as Tel woke, but it wasn’t the light that woke him so much as his bladder. His injuries ached like crazy, and he felt like his limbs were made of some strange hybrid of lead and cheese. He dimly remembered Uka waking him up a couple of times overnight and getting him to drink broth, which probably explained the bladder he thought. The second time she’d arrived she’d brought out a nightie for him to wear and even helped him into it. At the time he’d been far too tired to protest, but now that he could see it in the light he probably should have complained. Still, it was on now, and even he could admit that trousers were not going to happen. So with a Herculean effort he pushed himself up onto his left toes while Hearth wriggled free of the hayshed, then he draped himself across Hearths nose while he carried him to the roadway to relieve himself. When they arrived he leaned against the back wall of the stable, pulled up his nightie, and relieved himself of his dignity as much as urine. 

With the immediate demands taken care of he once again draped himself across Hearth and they made their way back towards the courtyard.  
“Mind if we kip in the sun?” Tel asked when he noticed Hearth turning towards the shed.  
Hearth warbled happily, laid himself down carefully on his side while holding Tel on his nose, then gently placed the man in his spot on the lower foreleg. Tel stifled grunts of pain as he adjusted himself to get comfortable, then let out a sigh of relief once he was done. He was exhausted. Uka might be able to stop him from bleeding to death, but she’d run it pretty close and he’d definitely lost enough blood to destroy his vigor. He was midway through summoning the strength to call out to Bethana, who he could hear in the kitchen, when the door opened of its own accord.   
“Morning!” Beth called as she made her way over with a steaming bowl and a jug.   
“Hi,” he replied lazily.  
“Looking fetching,” she teased with a wink as she put down the jug and handed him the bowl.  
Tel looked at the contents and wondered what had happened. Beth and Ameiko usually cooked up a storm, but the green-grey porridge with mystery lumps in front of him looked more like a week old pig slop.  
“Sorry Tel, but it’s Uka’s orders,” Beth said, “Shalelu said it wasn’t so bad after the first mouthful.”  
“Oh.”  
“Course Ameiko demanded Uka just use hemlock if she was going to kill her with poison,” Beth continued with a chuckle.

Tel smiled. He’d come to trust Uka’s skill as a healer and that trust extended to her more weird and wonderful remedies. He tried a spoonful.   
“The jugs full of water, also Uka’s orders,” Beth said before Tel had recovered.  
It was like having your tongue dragged through an old egg salad that had spilled into a peat bog. He swallowed, then reached for the water to wash it down.  
“Definitely medicinal,” he said.  
Beth just laughed, and Hearth croaked along after a moment of uncertainty.  
“You’re just laughing because I am,” Beth said to Hearth with an air of superiority.  
The dragon huffed, unimpressed, then licked Beth before she could respond.  
“Gah! Blasted snake,” she cried, flicking saliva to the ground, “I’ll leave the door open for you two, so if you need anything, aside from manners, just call.”  
Tel nodded and mumbled his thanks through another mouthful of mystery gruel, then watched Bethana get back to work in the kitchen before getting back to his own gruel-y endeavour.

He’d just washed the last spoonful down with water when Orik appeared in the inn doorway.  
“Aer, hey,” he said nervously .  
“Hey,” Tel replied cautiously.  
“I was taking to your friend, Uka, and I just wanted to come say thanks. For, you know, letting me go n all,” he said, “Tel and Hearth, she told me it was.”  
“That’s us,” Tel replied, battling a habitual tightness in his throat at someone knowing their names.  
“Thanks too, for letting Lyrie go. I’m actually going to stay in town a for a bit, I’m hoping she’ll show up, see. Now that, you know, Nualia ain’t there any more,” Orik said.  
The big armoured man wrung his hands and nodded deferentially to Hearth.   
“Thanks. Bye,” said Tel.  
“Yeah, sorry for disturbing you. Ok, I’ll be off. Thanks again,” said Orik and he headed back into the inn.  
Tel and Hearth exchanged a look. That had been weird. 

Tel closed his eyes to get his racing heart back under control then looked to Hearth, but movement caught his eye. To his dismay it was the Mayor and the Sheriff. He swore inwardly. Apparently a quiet rest in the morning sum was not going to happen, that had been cancelled to make way for the meetings-while-wearing-a-nightie. The fact that Uka was with them was strangely comforting however, hopefully she’d get rid of them quickly.  
“Tel and Hearth, allow me to express my most heartfelt gratitude,” said mayor Deverin in her pleasant voice, “I understand you were instrumental in thwarting the vile plans of Nualia and saving us from a goblin assault.”  
Tel took a moment to muster his thoughts, shot a quick glance to Hearth, and tried his best.  
“Thanks mayor, Sandpoint has been good to us, and we, ahh, didn’t want to see it burned,” he said.  
Tel hoped that sentence was polite and civilised, and everyone seemed happy with it, except the sheriff.  
“No, you sell yourselves short. I’ll admit when I’m wrong, Tel. You two stuck your necks out for us, all of us, and took a hell of a beating for your troubles. You’ve done bloody well,” said Belor.  
He took a step forward, clearly terrified of Hearth but doing it anyway, and held out his hand for Tel to shake. Tel regarded it coolly for a moment, before remembering he was trying here, and shook Belors hand. He even managed a smile which the sheriff returned. Then Belor turned to Hearth and awkwardly half-extended his hand. Hearth lifted his head up to look Belor in the eye and let out a low roo, leaving the sheriff looking even more lost.  
“He knows sheriff, he knows, that sound means you’re friends,” Tel translated.

“Now I must insist on letting them rest,” Uka interjected, “Also, Belor, please ensure the townspeople do not interrupt their convalescence.”  
“Right. Thanks again to you both, get well,” said Belor, stepping back.  
“My thanks again also. I’d like to finish by saying that the pair of you are more than welcome here, always,” said Mayor Deverin.  
As she turned to leave she ushered Belor ahead of her and as quickly as they’d come, they were gone. Tel patted Hearth with elation and they exchanged a smile. That went pretty well if he did say so himself, though now that the moment had passed the fatigue was quickly reasserting its dominance. Still, Project Sandpoint was definitely going places and that was worth the effort.   
“You handled that well,” said Uka, warmth edging her statement.  
“Yeah, well, it wouldn’t have happened without you, Uka. So, yeah… thanks. For everything.”  
“Quite alright. Now, I had better get back to my hut. I’ll see you later this afternoon when I come in to help Bethana with dinner,” she said, her tone lacking its usual force.   
“See you then,” Tel replied with a wave.  
“You will,” said Uka with a smile.  
Tel watched her go, and once she was lost to sight he paid the pain tax required to get comfy, gave Hearth a pat, and went to sleep.

######

When Tel woke up the midday sun was long gone and the pale gleam of moonlight had taken its place. Also, everything hurt. Still. It had been nearly a week since their trip to Thistletop and all he’d really done since was sleep, eat, drink and hobble to the toilet. Then sleep some more. And with Shalelu and Ameiko in the same boat it had been a quiet few days punctuated only by visits from Uka, Bethana, and, occasionally, Orik. Even Shayliss had stopped by to check on him. Tel had only poked his head in to see Shalelu and Ameiko a few times, but they seemed to be doing about as well as he was so the meetings were a quiet affair. 

Now though, finally, he had woken without feeling like complete shit and he was ready to go eat a proper meal in the inn. Probably not in the common room, crowds were more work than he had energy for, but the kitchen table sounded great. Hearth and he performed their toilet run routine, changed up by finishing it at the inns back door instead of the hayshed. He didn’t bother knocking and hobbled himself into the warmth and delicious smells within before gingerly sitting right at the end of the table within arms reach of Hearth. Both Tel and Hearth had a quick look around for Beth, but she was out making a run of plates to tables, so Hearth just dozed and Tel rested his head in his hands.   
“Feeling better are we?” came Bethanas gentle tone, as a hand fell on Tel’s shoulder.  
Tel lifted his heavy head to look at her.  
“Yeah, and I’m pretty sick of that gruel,” he replied with a smile.  
“Well, don’t tell Uka, but I didn’t think much of it myself. Here,” she said, grabbing a plate, “its only chicken, vegetables, and bread, but its solid at least.”  
She put the plate down in front of Tel, and after thanking her he tried it. As he chewed the chicken he decided it was the best thing ever and he couldn’t help a smile. There was a horrible sound from behind him as Hearth bit through a dozen chicken carcasses at once, and Tel lazily turned to see Bethana emptying every scrap and leftover into Hearths mouth.

The bedroom door opened and Shalelu gingerly led Ameiko into the kitchen. The pair of them looked much like Tel, wearing nighties with wild hair and crusty eyes.   
“Tel, Hearth, it is good to see you up and eating,” Shalelu said as the pair took a seat opposite Tel at the table.  
“Yeah, I’m feeling a bit better. It’s good to see you two again too,” he replied.  
“That gruel though, holy shit. Beth, if he’s on solids I demand some of my own,” Ameiko said, pointing accusingly at Tel’s plate.  
“When we all get turned into toads for breaking the rules I’ll be blaming you,” Beth said, dropping a plate of food in front of Shalelu and Ameiko.  
They were all well into their meal, the real food going down a treat, when Uka walked in from the common room. Like rabbits in lamplight everyone froze. Uka eyed her paralysed prey.   
“Your vigour appears to be returning,” she said slowly.  
Hearth destroyed the dangerous air with a happy warble to Uka and she huffed.  
“I’ll be leaving you to die if any of you aggravate your injuries,” she said finally, before heading over to the sink and chanting the spell to animate the washing up.

“Please do,” Ameiko whined, “another week of gruel and being held above my chamberpot on a stretcher of hair every time I need to go is a fate worse than death.”  
“I attended a town meeting in my nightie,” Tel added.  
“At least you could go to the loo unassisted. Besides, that was my nightie.”  
“Pain and dignity are, thankfully, problems for the living,” Shalelu said, “as is time spent among friends.”  
“Ha. Seriously though, Uka knows I love her, and that I owe her a debt of gratitude I’ll never repay for all the million things she’s done for me. Not least of which was save my life,” Ameiko said.  
She looked to Uka where she stood, backs to the group, at the sink while she spoke. Uka’s shoulders remained still, despite having finished the spell some time ago. 

Bethana came back into the kitchen holding an armful of plates.  
“That’s the last of them,” she announced as she dropped them off by Uka, “time for me to knock off. Thanks so much for all your help, as always Uka, with the boss spending all that time in bed with her lady friend she’s been zero help.”  
There was an uncharacteristic pause.  
“That is quite ok Bethana, I am happy to assist while Ameiko is incapacitated,” Uka replied in her usual tone.  
Beth clapped Uka playfully on the back.  
“Ah, you’re too good for them Uka, too good by far,” she said.  
Before anything more could be said Beth hugged each of the others in turn. Ameiko returned it warmly, Shalelu too, while Tel stiffly patted her twice on the back. Hearth nuzzled his old foe affectionately and Tel thought he could hear a stream of whispered thanks from Bethana.  
“Night Uka, night shits,” Beth said cheerily as she left, “see you all tomorrow.”  
Everyone wished her goodnight in a broken chorus, then the energy level dropped in Bethanas wake.

“I, too, will be off to bed. I’m glad to see you’re all recovering apace, however I will reiterate that you’re not to do anything energetic,” Uka said.  
“In that case Uka you’re going to have to come here,” Ameiko said, holding her arms open.  
“Shall I fetch your chamber pot?” Uka asked.  
“Oh my gods, no, Uka, come here and give me a hug. Seeing as I’m not allowed to come to you and all,” Ameiko said, arms still open.  
Uka paused again, momentarily, before relenting and hugging Ameiko. The two were locked in that tight embrace for a long time, and when they at last broke Tel could see wet tracks down Ameiko’s cheeks. Uka cleared her throat.  
“Good night everyone,” she said, her face utterly impassive, then quickly turned and left.  
Ameiko smiled through the last of her tears at the back of Uka’s hat as it disappeared from view. Shalelu draped an arm over her friend’s shoulder and Ameiko hugged it close while Tel just looked helplessly into the table.   
“I think I must be drunk on food, and we never speak of this again, but I love you guys. I really do,” Ameiko said at last.  
Shalelu hugged her close, and Hearth warbled happily, while Tel smiled at the timber. 

“I see that smile Tel, don’t think I don’t,” Ameiko chided.  
“You know, Ameiko, I… I can’t really say it right, but, what you did the night I came here… it turned out well. I, Hearth and I, we… thank you.”  
“Getting here was a team effort, right Hearth?” Ameiko replied, waiting for Hearth to finish his warbled agreement before continuing, “and it’s what friends do. We’re friends now, yeah?”  
Hearth agreed immediately with an emphatic Ruh. Tel rubbed the stubble on his chin thoughtfully, then looked to Hearth and back to Ameiko.  
“Yeah, I guess we are.”


End file.
